Senior Chinese leader Jia Qinglin Thursday praised the country's anti-poverty organization of rich business people for their contribution to the development of poor areas in the past decade.

Addressing deputies to the 4th Council Meeting of China Association for Promotion of the Glorious Cause, Jia said the organization has proved to be an effective way for people who got rich first to help the poor for common prosperity.

Jia, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, called on the organization to help reduce poverty in rural areas and also give priority to boosting the development of northeast China's rusty industrial belt.

Founded exactly a decade ago by 10 entrepreneurs from the private sector, including Liu Yonghao of Hope Group Co., the group of China's rich businessmen and industrialists have helped 4.59 million people get rid of poverty in the past decade through 9,765projects in the country's poor western and central regions.

The projects involve a combined actual investment of 52.3 billion yuan (US$6.37 billion).

A total of 13,684 entrepreneurs contributed 8.5 billion yuan (about us$1 billion) in donations to over 10,000 aid projects. The association also funded training of 2 million people in the poor areas and created 2.1 million jobs.

Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan was among those high-ranking officials present at the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2004)