China is a world model in relieving poverty, said United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Advisor Bob Boase at the launch of the UNDP Human Development Report 2003 on July 10.

During 1990 to 1999, he noted, China had decreased the proportion of people living in poverty from 33% to 18%, which was the greatest achievement in relieving poverty.

On July 10, the UNDP office in China launched the "UNDP Human Development Report 2003 -- Millennium Development Goals: A Compact among Nations to End Human Poverty". The report, for the first time, provides a comprehensive analysis of progress in meeting the millennium development goals.

According to the report, much of the impressive reduction in global poverty has been driven by China's incredible economic growth of over 9% a year in the 1990s, lifting 150 million people out of poverty.

Kerstin Leitner, the UNDP resident representative, said that China was among the few countries performing well overall on the indicators for the Millennium Development Goals.

The United Nations Millennium Declaration was adopted at the United Nations Millennium Summit held in New York in September 2000.

All the participating UN member states pledged to achieve by 2015 the following goals: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education; gender equality and the empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improved maternal health; control of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; environmental sustainability; and a global partnership for development.