On 30 June, the "Academic Symposium on Poverty Alleviation and the Opening Ceremony of the National Social Science Foundation Major Projects", co-organised by the National Social Science Foundation Major Projects Group, of which chaired by Professor Wu Haitao, Director of the IIDPF Poverty Research Centre, was successfully held online. Nearly 300 faculty members and students from more than 20 universities and research institutes, including the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Renmin University of China, Fudan University, China Agricultural University, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and Sichuan Agricultural University, attended the conference.
An academic Symposium on the theme of the decisive battle against poverty was conducted in the morning, which was chaired by Professor Qian Xuefeng, Dean of the School of Business Administration. Professor Yang Canming, Vice Secretary of the General Party Committee and President of ZUEL, attended the meeting and delivered a remark. President Yang expressed his warm welcome and sincere thanks to the experts and scholars who have supported ZUEL's career development, discipline construction and scientific research for a long time, and grandly introduced the fruitful achievements of ZUEL in scientific research, poverty alleviation and other fields in recent years and its future development goals. President Yang concluded by wishing the academic symposium a successful outcome.
Following this, the six participants presented their keynote speeches. A report by Professor Wan Guanghua, Director of the Institute of World Economics, Fudan University, on the theme "The Miracle of Poverty Reduction and Relative Poverty in China". A report by Professor Liu Shouying, Dean of the School of Economics, Renmin University of China, on the theme of "The Road to Agricultural Industrialization in Poor Areas". Professor Zheng Fengtian, Vice Dean of the School of Agriculture and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, reporting on the theme "Chinese Wisdom on Precise Poverty Alleviation". Professor Zhang Yuan from the School of Economics, Fudan University, reported on the topic of "A Few Thoughts on Relative Poverty and The Relative Poverty Line”. Professor Wu Haitao of IIDPF reported on the topic of "Effective Interface between Poverty Alleviation and Rural Revitalization". Professor Li Xiaoyun from the School of Humanities and Development, China Agricultural University, reported on the topic of "Riverside Experiment: From Precise Poverty Eradication to Rural Revitalisation".
In the afternoon, the opening session of the National Social Science Foundation's major project "Multidimensional Identification and Collaborative Governance of Relative Poverty in China", of which IIDPF Professor Wu Haitao is the chief expert. This session was chaired by Professor Chen Chibo, Director of the Rural Revitalisation Research Centre of ZUEL. It started with a speech by Professor Zou Jinwen, Vice President of ZUEL. President Zou introduced the academic development and poverty alleviation of ZUEL in recent years, affirmed the contribution of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Management to the ZUEL's "double first-class" construction and poverty alleviation work, and expressed expectations for the opening of the major social science project team and the research plan and work arrangement after the opening of the project.
Following this, Professor Wu Haitao reported on the research status and value of the topic, the overall framework and expected objectives, the research ideas and research methods, the key points and innovations, and the structure and main contents of the sub-topics. Professor Wu also elaborated on the scope for innovation and the key issues to be addressed in the research. The expert group consisting of Professor Wan Guanghua and Professor Zhang Yuan from Fudan University, Professor Liu Shouying and Professor Zheng Fengtian from Renmin University of China, Professor Li Xiaoyun from China Agricultural University, Deputy Director Zhang Huidong from IPRCC, and Associate Researcher Ni Hongfu from the Institute of Economic Research, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, listened carefully to the report on the project. The experts affirmed the value of the study, the research ideas and the design of the programme, and put forward a series of highly constructive comments on the advancement of the project. Professor Wu Haitao expressed his gratitude to the experts for their wonderful comments, and had an in-depth discussion with them on the key contents. Professor Wu expressed that he would fully digest and absorb the experts' suggestions, further improve the project design and ensure the quality of the project research. In conclusion, Professor Zhang Jinlin, Head of ZUEL's Research Department, gave his concluding remarks. Professor Zhang expressed his congratulations and work requirements, stating that ZUEL's Research Department will fully support and cooperate with the project, while hoping that the Social Science Major Project Team will continue to innovate and produce more influential results. At this point, the Academic Symposium on Poverty Alleviation and the Opening Ceremony of the National Social Science Foundation Major Projects was successfully concluded.
Under the continued global spread of COVID-19 and in the face of the special context of an increasingly complex international environment, this symposium summarises Chinese wisdom on poverty governance and discusses and explores the path of multidimensional identification and collaborative governance of relative poverty in China post-2020. It is an important meeting for renowned experts and scholars to gather their strength and to demonstrate the academic commitment and academic wisdom of researchers. We will take advantage of this symposium to proactively serve national strategies, promote cooperation with domestic and international research institutions and international organizations, and continue to deliver ZUEL's voice and contribute ZUEL's wisdom in the field of poverty research。