(Yicai Global) March 5 -- China lifted 55.75 million people in rural areas out of poverty during the 13th Five-Year Plan, and a five-year transition period will be set to keep major support policies stable during the 14th Five-Year Plan, according to Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

“China will form a long-term mechanism to consolidate our achievements in poverty elimination and improve the overall development of areas that have escaped poverty,” Li said in the government work report he presented to the National People’s Congress, which kicked off in Beijing today.

Li added that efforts will be made to develop agricultural production and living conditions in rural areas this year, the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

The major task for areas that have escaped poverty is to consolidate the achievements during the transition period, Xing Chengju, associate professor with the College of Humanities & Social Development at Northwest A&F University, told Yicai Global.

China has initiated a strategy for rural revitalization to boost stable agricultural development and raise farmers’ incomes, such as offering preferential policies and fiscal support to targeted areas.

The strategy will help areas under pressure from poverty to consolidate their achievements in the five-year transition period, Xing said, adding that further revitalization will begin.

Editor: Tom Litting