As an effort to address poverty alleviation, Chongqing is set to start a month-long consumption promotion campaign to boost the sales of products from impoverished areas, Huang Changwu, deputy director of the Municipal Poverty Alleviation and Development Office, told a press conference on Friday, Sep. 4, 2020.

Entering the final stage of the country’s concerted commitment to eliminate poverty by the end of this year, the CPC municipal committee and the municipal government have, on multiple occasions, highlighted the significance of tackling poverty alleviation through consumption. Huang said that significant efforts had since been made in providing a sound policy support system, reinforcing the certification process for poverty relief products, and establishing a comprehensive distribution platform.

“Working Guidelines on the Special Task of Poverty Alleviation through Consumption” and “Interim Measures of Chongqing Municipality on the Certification for Poverty Relief Products” were promulgated earlier this year to further interdepartmental cooperation among government agencies at all levels, Huang said.

“The certification of poverty relief products is the ‘first button’ to be fastened, and we collaborated closely with the city’s market supervision authorities to make sure that all products for sale would be at a reasonable price and of excellent quality,” he added. “A total of 6,300 poverty relief products and 2,400 such suppliers have been certified so far, covering the needs of about 594,000 impoverished people.”

Thousands of special retail booths are expected to be installed all over the city, a 15,000-square-meter special shopping center is currently being constructed, and local brands such as Yonghui, CBEST, and NCD have also joined the rush to set up special sections in their department stores. Some 3.51-billion-yuan worth of poverty relief products has been sold through these channels and about 137 million yuan of which were agricultural products sold during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many more online and offline promotional events and activities are scheduled for the following month, as well as a series of forums and exhibits for October. Huang concluded the press conference by calling on all government agencies, public and private enterprises, social organizations, and the general public to be a part of this project and make a contribution.

The city’s move to start the pro-consumption campaign follows the latest bid of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development to approach poverty alleviation through consumption. A nationwide trend is expected to emerge from early September to Mid-October, as more provinces and municipalities jump on the bandwagon.