Alpacas graze on the hill in Yangqu County of north China's Shanxi Province, July 14, 2018. Liu Xuerong, a poverty-stricken farmer from Pingli Village of Yangqu County, started embarking on cultivating those Australia-originated alpacas in 2014. The breeding base makes a profit from cub breeding, woolen products and tourism of alpaca watching. Liu accordingly earns a monthly wage of 3,000 yuan (about 449 U.S. dollars). China will continue to work vigorously to reduce poverty and lift no less than ten million people out of poverty in 2019, to lay a solid foundation for winning the battle against poverty, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Monday. The year 2018 saw China launch its three-year actions in fighting the battle against poverty. Premier Li Keqiang vowed to reduce the poor population by ten million each year in all his government work reports over the past five years. He gave specific instructions on ways to push forward this work and to better manage the poverty alleviation funds. According to the progress update at the Monday meeting, 13.86 million people were lifted out of poverty in 2018, thanks to the dedicated efforts by local authorities and competent departments in implementing the decisions made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)
