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BEIJING, Aug. 13-- In the late 1930s, when the generals and soldiers of the Communist Party of China (CPC) established a revolutionary base in Lyuliang in north China's Shanxi Province, they didn't know this mountain city would remain poor 80 years later. Among the 13 counties in Lyuliang, 10 counties and 3,350 villages are still considered regions in "abject poverty." With about 128,000 villages and over 40 million people in China still living in poverty, the country's fight against invaders and oppressors decades ago has now turned into a fight against poverty, as more than 120 CPC members have sacrificed their lives in the fight. In the past 30 years, even with 700 million people lifted out of poverty, abject poverty remains one of China's top concerns. It persists not only in areas around old revolutionary bases, but also in ethnic minority regions, border areas, and places with poor infrastructure, fragile environmental conditions and frequent natural disasters. In late June, Chinese President Xi Jinping went to Lyuliang to visit poor families and talk with officials in charge of poverty alleviation work. Xi called on the villagers to "roll up your sleeves and work harder, together with the CPC Central Committee." A RACE AGAINST TIME China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society, which requires the eradication of poverty. The task has become more difficult and costly as the process approaches its end. | 
