China is in a critical stage as it strives to eradicate extreme poverty by 2020, as part of the central government's goal to build an all-round well-off society in which no one is left behind.

China has made remarkable progress in this respect. Over the past three decades, it has lifted nearly 700 million people out of poverty, or three-quarters of the world's total.

But as Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, pointed out during a meeting on poverty alleviation work on Tuesday, it is now "a daunting task", one that is becoming more and more difficult as it nears the end.