China lifted 68.53 million people out of poverty over the past five years, as it made impressive progress in poverty reduction, according to the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, Xinhua reported.

It was equivalent to an annual reduction of at least 13 million. The country's poverty rate dropped from 10.2 percent in 2012 to 3.1 percent in 2017.

China aims to eliminate absolute poverty by 2020 as part of the creation of a moderately prosperous society.

There were around 30 million Chinese living below the national poverty line at the end of last year.

Policy makers have listed poverty alleviation as one of China's "three tough battles" for the next three years, along with risk prevention and pollution control. The year 2018 is a key year.