Qin Gao Quoted in the Financial Times on China’s Race to Beat Poverty

July 17, 2020

As the Chinese government approaches its deadline for eradicating rural poverty by the end of 2020, Dr. Qin Gao, Professor and Columbia University’s founding director of the China Center for Social Policy, is a sought-after expert by various international media outlets. On June 25, Qin Gao was quoted in a feature report in the Financial Times that “the government is determined to achieve this goal. Since March, official publications have reaffirmed that it must happen by the end of the year.”

On June 30, Qin Gao was quoted in a piece titled “Has China Won the War on Poverty? ” published by the China-Britain Business Focus. Professor Gao was quoted to say that one of the biggest barriers to sustainable poverty relief is dwindling social mobility. “In rural populations, there is much less upward mobility than in the cities. To address poverty, you need to lift people up to higher living standards but, more importantly, to opportunities,” she said.

Since 2018, Professor Gao has led a multidisciplinary research team to study China’s effort to eradicate rural poverty by 2020. She previously published an article in the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) study on social service delivery in China, focusing on the financial investments and mass mobilization involved in rural poverty alleviation. In 2018, she also appeared in a documentary, Road to Riches, produced by CGTN America.

Columbia Affiliations
China Center for Social Policy