Hunger and poverty are scars of this increasingly vibrant and well-off world, and their eradication has been the most meaningful task of the whole humanity.
The international community has never stopped in this endeavor. Halving the proportion of undernourished people since 1990 before the 2015 deadline marks one of the most courageous targets of the world.
The ambitious target, dubbed the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), was set by the World Food Summit (WFS) in 1996. It has aroused a lot of questions and doubts since its very birth.
China, the most populous country in the world, has a vast number of people living in sheer poverty, and the efforts to lift its people out of poverty would be a huge contribution to the world's collective endeavor.
HUGE SUCCESS AT HOME
China has put great strength in boosting its agricultural policies and improving infrastructure, technology and equipment in agriculture, to better support farmers and enhance their productivity.
All these efforts have resulted in a significant improvement of food security of the world.
According to the latest FAO (the UN Food and Agriculture Organization)estimates, China was able to reduce the prevalence of undernourishment in its society from 23.9 percent in 1990-92 to 9.3 percent in 2014-16.
In the same period, China cut the absolute number of hungry people from 289 million to 133.8 million.
The achievement has been recognized by the United Nations. China received a diploma at the FAO headquarters in Rome on Sunday for reaching the MDG, or halving the absolute number of hungry people by 2015.
Ensuring food security has always been a priority of the Chinese government, said Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang after receiving the diploma on behalf of his country.
CONTRIBUTION BEYOND BORDER
Hunger relief and poverty reduction, two major challenges to the whole world, are shared responsibilities of the international community, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a speech at the FAO headquarters on the eve of World Food Day last October.
