FILE: Liangshan Yi Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of farmland
2. Various of fruit farms, farmers

Beijing, China - Oct 16, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (English) David Blair, vice president, Center for China and Globalization (partially overlaid with shots 4-5):
"I spent some time in Yunnan Province and saw there's a big flower market south of Kunming. And saw how the opportunity to sell flowers not only in China but to the world has transformed the lives of many farmers there, and that depends on e-commerce capability, communications and infrastructure. So it's a real change. If somebody says it's just fake numbers, that's not right. If you look on the ground, there are big changes in everybody's life in the last ten, twenty years."

++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Anxi County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of phone screens live-streaming merchants selling tea on e-commerce platform
5. Various of logistics workers packing tea in mail order boxes
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Xiongsong Town, Gonjo County, Chamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - Nov 19, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Aeriel shot of old houses in village
7. Villagers carrying bags of belongings on hillside
8. Villagers loading personal items onto vehicles

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Oct 16, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Hannah Ryder, CEO, Development Reimagined (partially overlaid with shot 10):
"I was born in Kenya and lived there for the first ten years of my life. I would go and see my grandparents in the village where we didn't have any electricity or any running water. And actually today, these sorts of challenges still arise. So I very much understand the kinds of challenges that China faces, especially in the most rural areas. But, at the same time, the importance of trying to address poverty, trying to provide the key goods for people to be able to survive and to lift themselves out of poverty, that's a fundamental point. People have the ability to do it, and the drive, of course, and the entrepreneurship. It's just how does the government create the conditions for that to happen."

++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
Beijing, China - Oct 16, 2020 (CGTN – No access Chinese mainland)
10. Interview in progress
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Beijing, China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of Tian'anmen Rostrum, Chinese national flag

Beijing, China - Oct 16, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Interview in progress

Beijing, China - Oct 16, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
13. SOUNDBITE (English) John Gong, professor, University of International Business and Economics (starting with shot 12):
"I think the government does have the political will and determination to continue on its current path of trying to eliminate poverty for as many as possible. And I think by the end of the year it's quite achievable."

FILE: Xiongsong Town, Gonjo County, Chamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - Nov 19, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Newly-built residential buildings for villagers
15. Villagers getting out of elevator
16. Villagers entering new house

Beijing, China - Oct 16, 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
17. SOUNDBITE (English) David Blair, vice president, Center for China and Globalization (partially overlaid with shots 18-20):
"I think the key in what we're seeing implemented in China is very, very good provision of public goods, especially infrastructure and telecommunications, communications, roads, and the creation of a good business environment that gives entrepreneurs a chance. So yeah, they're going to be some people who fall through the safety net, who don't seize their opportunities, and you need to provide a safety net for them. But for the bulk of the people, I'm very impressed by the entrepreneurship of very many people in this country, and they are able to seize the opportunities in ways I would never think of."

++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, southwest China - Jan 2, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
18. Aerial shots of newly-built Gele-Qiaojia expressway

FILE: Medog County, Nyingchi City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
19. Aerial of newly-built school
20. Students arriving
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Changdu City, Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
21. Aerial shot of village
22. Villager walking
23. Villager working
24. Edible fungi

China has created the conditions for its poorest people to seize entrepreneurial opportunities and lift themselves out of poverty, according to experts, as the country marked its seventh National Poverty Relief Day on Saturday.

As poverty alleviation work continues in earnest, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged for ongoing efforts to win a complete victory in the battle against poverty, with 2020 seen as the decisive year in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

David Blair, vice president of Center for China and Globalization, said he has seen the astonishing progress China has made first-hand, citing a visit to the Kunming Dounan Flower Market, Asia's largest fresh cut flower trading market, as evidence of the potential entrepreneurial opportunities that exist for locals.

"I spent some time in Yunnan Province and saw there's a big flower market south of Kunming. And saw how the opportunity to sell flowers not only in China but to the world has transformed the lives of many farmers there, and that depends on e-commerce capability, communications and infrastructure. So it's a real change. If somebody says it's just fake numbers, that's not right. If you look on the ground, there are big changes in everybody's life in the last ten, twenty years," said Blair, in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Friday.

Recalling her own experiences of growing in a relatively poor setting, Hannah Ryder, CEO of consultancy group Development Reimagined, said she is aware of the challenges that exist but believes Chinese people are capable of overcoming these obstacles.

"I was born in Kenya and lived there for the first ten years of my life. I would go and see my grandparents in the village where we didn't have any electricity or any running water. And actually today, these sorts of challenges still arise. So I very much understand the kinds of challenges that China faces, especially in the most rural areas. But, at the same time, the importance of trying to address poverty, trying to provide the key goods for people to be able to survive and to lift themselves out of poverty, that's a fundamental point. People have the ability to do it, and the drive, of course, and the entrepreneurship. It's just how does the government create the conditions for that to happen," she said.

Over the past 40 years since it began its reform and opening-up process, China has seen more than 800 million people lifted from poverty, contributing to over 70 percent of the global poverty reduction efforts. China's poor population in rural areas dropped from 98.99 million at the end of 2012 to 5.51 million at the end of 2019.

Many experts believe China is on target to eliminate absolute poverty by the end of 2020 - 10 years earlier than the deadline set by the United Nations (UN) in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

"I think the government does have the political will and determination to continue on its current path of trying to eliminate poverty for as many as possible. And I think by the end of the year it's quite achievable," said John Gong, a professor at University of International Business and Economics.

Blair hailed the efforts the Chinese government has made so far to ensure everyone has the chance to be elevated out of poverty, and believes the people themselves have displayed they have the necessary traits to be successful.

"I think the key in what we're seeing implemented in China is very, very good provision of public goods, especially infrastructure and telecommunications, communications, roads, and the creation of a good business environment that gives entrepreneurs a chance. So yeah, they're going to be some people who fall through the safety net, who don't seize their opportunities, and you need to provide a safety net for them. But for the bulk of the people, I'm very impressed by the entrepreneurship of very many people in this country, and they are able to seize the opportunities in ways I would never think of," he said.