FILE: Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - 2018 (Exact Date Unknown) (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shot of highway

FILE: Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - 2018 (Exact Location and Date Unknown) (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Aerial shot of tea plantation
3. Farmers working in tea plantation

FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of villagers delivering Hami melons; selling Hami melons

FILE: Yunnan Province, southwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Pigsties
6. Various of surveillance camera footages showing scenes at different pigsties
7. Farmer cleaning pigsty
8. Pigs

Bazhong City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Nov 22, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Sheep
9. Various of man feeding sheep

FILE: Santai County, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Nov 7, 2017 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of farmers growing pepper

FILE: Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province, southwest China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Aerial shots of new houses

Bazhong City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Nov 22, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Aerial shots of expressway

China has witnessed substantial drop of poverty rate in the past 40 years, especially in rural areas, thanks to the adoption of the policy of reform and opening-up, a top poverty alleviation official said Saturday.

The poverty rate, proportion of people living below the Chinese poverty line, had fallen among rural population from a high of 97.5 percent in 1978 to 3.1 percent at the end of 2017, Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council's Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development told a seminar on the 40th anniversary of poverty alleviation in reform.

More than 700 million rural residents have been lifted out of poverty over the past 40 years since the adoption of the policy of reform and opening up in 1978, according to Liu.

It marks a miracle in the history of poverty reduction, Liu said, noting that reform and opening-up is the driving force behind China's success in poverty reduction, while the targeted poverty reduction strategy, adopted six years ago, is the correct choice in the new era.

Liu called for consistent efforts in advancing poverty reduction in a more precise and effective way.

The battle against poverty is one of the "three tough battles" that China must win to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. To achieve the goal, the country needs to lift around 30 million poverty-stricken rural residents out of poverty between 2018 and 2020.