For Song Yiming, Xingtang's fight against poverty is reflected in a modern poultry facility that now connects the once-impoverished county in Hebei province with dining tables in Beijing.
Song, the sixth official assigned by the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee to work in Xingtang, said that Yukou Poultry Co has built what local officials describe as the world's largest single modern industrial park for layer breeders — chickens primarily used for egg production.
According to local statistics, roughly one in every two eggs consumed by Beijing's population of more than 20 million can be traced back to Xingtang.
The transformation began in 2016. Although poultry farming had long been a traditional industry in the county, it was still dominated by small-scale household operations offering limited returns.
After officials sent to support Xingtang's development identified the potential of its traditional poultry sector, they helped bring the county government and Yukou Poultry together. Years of follow-up work — from site selection and policy support to financing and approvals — turned a small-scale local trade into a modern production chain.
Speaking at a thematic dialogue between the CPC and foreign political parties, Song said that the poultry project, built through government-enterprise cooperation, represents a vivid example of China's targeted poverty alleviation efforts.
For several foreign political figures attending the dialogue, such local changes provided tangible insight into China's wider poverty alleviation campaign.
In 2021, China announced that it had lifted all 98.99 million of its rural residents living below the poverty line at the time out of poverty. All 832 counties once classified as poverty-stricken, including Xingtang as well as 128,000 impoverished villages, were also removed from the poverty list.
Lord Vaea, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga, said that China's achievements in eradicating poverty underscore the strength of people-centered governance, showing how development can bring about far-reaching change when it is anchored in improving people's lives.
Vaea said that, for Tonga, China's experience also highlights the importance of long-term vision and policy continuity. The sustained efforts made under a shared national blueprint — particularly in poverty reduction and rural revitalization — have provided other countries with valuable lessons on how to achieve more inclusive and resilient development. He added that the delegation's visit to Hebei and Xingtang gave the visitors a closer look at how governance, industry and social investment can work together to revitalize rural communities. Tonga hopes to draw on China's experience in ways that fit its own national priorities and help strengthen livelihoods and resilience.
Sisouphanh Keobandavong, a member of the Party Committee of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China's people-centered approach has driven high-quality growth, scientific and technological progress, social stability and marked improvements in living standards.
Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said that the CPC has always regarded serving the people and improving their well-being as the most important measure of governance performance.
Liu said that the Party is ready to strengthen exchanges with political parties around the world and work together to explore paths of development.
