Jatropha plantations can improve the lives of many poor people living in rural areas. In the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan you virtually only see women. The men work in sweatshops at the coast making your iPhones, Nike shoes, and Levi jeans. Working at the plantation can generate income, improve the quality of life, and increase the self-esteem of the farmers.

The gap in China between the “haves” in coastal cities and the “have-nots” in the countryside is getting bigger and bigger, and poses a major problem for the Chinese government. According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report 2006, there were 23 million people are living below the national poverty line and 57% of China’s population was living in the undeveloped rural areas.

China is facing a widening gap on disposable income between rural and urban populations. The per capita income of an urban resident is now 3.3 times that of a rural resident — the biggest gap in Chinese history. With more than 700 million residents living in rural areas, the Chinese government is now focused in policies and actions aimed at reducing this divide.

Officially, China is still categorized as a developing country with a per capita annual income of approximately $8382 in 2011. From 1978 to 2008, per capita income increased 6-fold and the number of people living in absolute poverty, according to national poverty line criteria, decreased from about 260 to about 14 million. Despite China’s strong and sustained economic growth, poverty is still persistent, especially in remote rural areas. Income inequalities between eastern and western China have broadened, and the income gap between rural and urban residents has widened considerably since the late 1970s. Urban incomes are now more than 3 times higher than rural incomes. China’s government is taking strong measures to correct this trend by increasing investment in rural areas, especially in infrastructure, irrigation, education, and health.

The prevailing view of poverty in China, according to the World Bank, holds that it is exclusively a rural phenomenon, especially prevalent in western China, remote areas, and minority regions; it is highly concentrated in clusters of poor villages; and it is more prevalent among girls, women, and the elderly, mainly affecting people who are unable to work.

The report, “China — From poor areas to poor people: China’s evolving poverty reduction agenda — an assessment of poverty and inequality in china” (www. worldbank. org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2011/01/24/0003330 … 2011-01-25) finds that while there are elements of truth in some of these per­ceptions, poverty is far more differentiated in China.

• Conventional wisdom is right on one count, in that almost all of China’s poor live in or come from rural areas. Poverty is an almost exclusively rural phenomenon, with 99% of China’s poor hailing from rural China. Even if migrant workers are excluded from the rural population, 90% of poverty is still rural. Even when applying a cost — of-living differential between urban and rural areas that is higher than the official standard, rural poverty would account for over 80% of overall poverty.

• Geography and ethnicity are relevant, but they are not the sole determinants of poverty. Levels of poverty are higher and more severe in China’s western regions, but nearly half of the poor are in other parts of the country. People living in remote, mountainous areas are 2-3 times more likely to be poor than those who live in more central areas and the incidence of poverty among ethnic minorities is 2-3 times higher than among the Han Chinese. Still, about half of the poor in China are neither living in remote areas nor members of an ethnic minority. Jatropha plantations in China are in the remote pour areas of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangzhou.

• Children, especially girls, are more likely to be poor than the elderly. Overall, poverty rates for male and female adults and the elderly population are very close — between 12 and 13%. However, poverty rates are higher among children under 16 years old: 16% of boys and 17% of girls are poor. Girls are also more at risk than boys of becoming poor.

• China is classified under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Development Assistance Committee as a “lower-middle-income country.”

• The World Bank estimates that 320-350 million Chinese are still living on less than $2 a day. The gap between rich and poor is widening.

• China does not have an overall, economic and accessible healthcare system. Only 14% of employees hold unemployment insurance, 18% health insurance, and 23% retirement schemes.

• Unemployment is on the rise. The official unemployment rate in urban areas is at 8.5%, in the country at 30%. This leads to migration, especially to the urban centers in the east.

• Around 70% of China’s energy use is based on coal, with other forms of energy each accounting for only a tiny proportion, according to official statistics.

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