Xinhua News Agency reported today that World Bank President Paul
Wolfowitz, speaking prior to his tour of China, Finland, Japan,
Russia and Sweden, said one of his key aims in visiting China is to
learn about its successes and challenges in large-scale poverty
reduction.
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"China clearly has come a long way. It is now more than just a
country that has been successful in expanding its economy and
reducing poverty. It is a major global economic force," Wolfowitz
said.
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"I am looking forward to seeing what the world - and particularly
countries in Africa -- can learn from China - and also to hear more
from Chinese people about their own aspirations," he added.
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He said China has brought more than 400 million people above the
one-dollar-a-day poverty line in the past two decades, a remarkable
achievement, but its challenges are equally significant. China is
still home to 18 percent of the world's poor, and the gap between
rich and poor has been widening over the last twenty years.
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Wolfowitz is embarking on a two-week trip to two of the World
Bank's largest developing borrowers, China and Russia, as well as
three major donors. It is his first visit to these countries since
taking office in June.
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In Tokyo, he is scheduled to discuss the creation of a new
partnership with Japan to share experience, knowledge, ideas and
innovation to generate growth and reduce poverty, the bank said in
a statement.
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"Japan is increasingly focusing on the world beyond Asia, and
agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the
Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the world's largest
bilateral donor, will be critical to that effort," said
Wolfowitz.
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He is due to visit China's rural western province of Gansu and
Beijing to meet government officials, civil society and women's
groups, and attend the G20 meeting.
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In Russia, he will meet President Putin, members of his government
and representatives of civil society. His trip will focus on the
country's role in the global economy and its contribution to
development as it prepares to chair the G8 next year.
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He will then proceed to Stockholm and Helsinki, where he will meet
central bank governors from the Nordic and Baltic states and hold
talks with parliamentarians from around the world who are members
of the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)