The authorities have also made efforts to achieve universal coverage of compulsory education, affordable healthcare and access to clean drinking water in less affluent rural regions.

Meanwhile, as of June this year, residents in 98 percent of China's impoverished villages now have access to the internet through fiberoptic cables, up from less than 70 percent in 2017, according to a report on China's internet development.

This achievement marks the early realization of the goal set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) of delivering broadband coverage to more than 90 percent of poor villages, the report, issued by the China Internet Network Information Center, notes.