China’s model offers lessons in long-term planning, infrastructure-led growth, poverty reduction – Perm Sec

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The Permanent Secretary of Nigerian Foreign Ministry, Dr. Dunoma Umar Ahmed has said that China’s development experience offers lessons in long-term planning, infrastructure-led growth, targeted poverty reduction programs and the mobilization of domestic resources to advance a system.

Ahmed who made this known Tuesday in Abuja at a One-Day-Workshop on Nigeria’s poverty alleviation and China’s development model organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DICAN) in collaboration with Chinese Embassy in Nigeria said that upon the fact that every country’s path must be shaped by its unique institutions, social fabric and values, noted the objective should be to assess which elements of the China model can be responsibly contextualized for Nigeria, enhancing agricultural productivity, expanding social protection, leveraging public–private partnerships, and investing in human capital — while ensuring transparency, accountability, and respect for democratic governance.

The workshop themed: “Nigeria’s Poverty Alleviation Efforts: Adopting China Modules and Its Relevance in the New Era — The Place of Policy Makers, Development Partners and Diplomatic Reporters” said that most developing countries, faces complex development challenges, persistent poverty, unemployment, and inequalities that required bold, pragmatic and collaborative responses, noting that no single institution or country holds all the answers.

He expressed that constructive study of international models, the adaptation of best practices, and strengthened partnerships were essential for delivering inclusive progress for the citizens.

In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Yu Dunhai represented by the Counsellor, Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of China, Sun Xuekun said China’s practical approaches to poverty enabled it to develop a systematic, practical, and efficient poverty reduction framework tailored to its national conditions.

Yu informed that Chinese government invested nearly 1.6 trillion Yuan in special poverty alleviation funds, mobilized financial support, dispatched more than three million officials and village work team members, and built a nationwide assistance network that reached every poor household.

Recounting China’s poverty reduction successes, Yu noted that since the reform and opening-up in 1978, China had lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty, contributing over 70 percent of global poverty reduction.

He said that at the end of 2012, nearly 100 million rural residents were still living below the poverty line, but within eight years, by the end of 2020, all of them had been lifted out of poverty.

Amb. Yu noted that more than 12 million people escaped poverty each year, stating that China’s per capita GDP increased from about 6,300 U.S. dollars to more than 10,400 U.S. dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 8.1 percent.

He said a total of 98.99 million rural poor residents, 832 impoverished counties, and 128,000 impoverished villages were removed from poverty within the period, informing that China eradicated absolute poverty and achieved the poverty reduction target of the United Nations 2030 Agenda ten years ahead of schedule.

Director of the Centre for China Studies (CCS), Abuja, Charles Onunaiju stressed the need for a shift in Nigeria’s poverty reduction program from welfare-based interventions to policies that build capabilities and create sustainable economic opportunities that will endure.

Media practitioner and Commentator on National issues, Dr Austin Maho tasked journalists to critically evaluate and contextualize international development models, noting that lessons from China’s poverty reduction efforts could inform policy discussions in Nigeria if adapted to local conditions.

Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria and Head of Contemporary China-Africa Research, Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim highlighted China’s targeted poverty reduction strategy as a model worthy of study in efforts to address poverty challenges in Nigeria.

At the end of the workshop there was a consensus by experts, stakeholders and participants that China has offered the world a roadmap by developing a systematic, practical, and efficient poverty reduction framework tailored to its local peculiarities which can provide the foundation for global economic emancipation.

And above all, China’s success offers valuable lessons for global poverty governance.