CHENGDU - Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has called for meticulous efforts to reduce poverty during a research tour of Tibetan areas of Sichuan province.

From Wednesday to Friday, Wang went to several counties in Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture to learn about poverty-relief progress there.

While acknowledging the province's achievements so far, Wang underlined the arduous tasks ahead and urged more targeted efforts.

The region should make full use of its natural and cultural resources to quicken development in agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism, he said.

China has set 2020 as the target year to complete building a "moderately prosperous society" in all aspects, and the hardest part is lifting all the rural population out of poverty.

China brought 12.4 million people in rural areas above the poverty line in 2016, and there are still around 43 million people living in poverty.