Pioneering the development of three generations of photovoltaic farms and achieving targeted poverty alleviation—Zhongli Group attended the 2017 Poverty Alleviation Day Forum on County-Level Development and Poverty Eradication.

On October 10, 2017, coinciding with China’s fourth National Poverty Alleviation Day, the “2017 Poverty Alleviation Day Forum on County‑Level Development and Poverty Eradication,” hosted by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and organized by the China Association for Promoting Volunteer Service in Poverty Alleviation, was solemnly held at the Beijing Convention Center. Representatives from impoverished counties across the country, business leaders, and media reporters gathered to engage in an in-depth discussion on industry‑based poverty alleviation, employment‑driven poverty reduction, consumption‑oriented poverty relief, and health‑related poverty eradication within county-level contexts, all under the theme of “industrial clustering and county‑wide poverty elimination.” Wang Baixing, Chairman of Zhongli Group, Qin Lijun, President of the Poverty Alleviation Division, and Chen Jie, President of the Domestic Strategic Development Department, attended the forum. Zhongli’s pioneering third‑generation photovoltaic farm–based precision poverty‑alleviation project drew significant attention from participating leaders and representatives of impoverished counties. On that day, representatives from 13 impoverished counties signed “county‑wide poverty‑elimination” agreements with Zhongli.

Wang Jiahua, Vice President of the China Association for Promoting Volunteer Services in Poverty Alleviation, served as the moderator and began by briefly summarizing the significance of this forum. Since its successful inaugural edition on Poverty Alleviation Day in 2016, the forum has become a key national initiative in the fight against poverty. This year, it has undergone innovative upgrades in both content and format, with the aim of broadly mobilizing society and pooling the collective wisdom of participants to contribute to the nation’s poverty‑eradication efforts. Tian Shihong, a member of the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration for Market Regulation and Director of the National Standardization Administration, offered insights from the perspective of standardization in targeted poverty alleviation. He emphasized that a shared understanding serves as the driving force behind standardized approaches to poverty reduction. Standardization is an essential tool for advancing the national governance system and modernization; he underscored that poverty eradication is not only an urgent practical need but also a powerful avenue for exploring innovation and reform in standardization. Precise identification of impoverished populations and industrial development, among other areas, all require robust standards. The standardization of targeted poverty alleviation provides strong support for securing a decisive victory in the battle against poverty and for achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Liu Yongfu, Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and President of the China Volunteer Service Association for Poverty Alleviation, attended the meeting and delivered an important address. Director Liu offered guiding recommendations to all attendees, emphasizing that poverty alleviation hinges on a shift in mindset and that only by promoting positive social values can rural development be truly achieved. He also singled out Zhongli for special commendation, expressing his appreciation and recognition for the group’s innovative contributions to poverty‑alleviation efforts at the county level.

At the forum, Chen Jie, President of the Domestic Strategic Development Department at Zhongli Group–Talesun Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech titled “Staying True to Our Original Aspiration, Shouldering Social Responsibility, and Pioneering Innovative Poverty-Alleviation Photovoltaic Farms to Achieve County-Wide Poverty Eradication.”

Since its founding thirty years ago, Zhongli Group has remained committed to giving back to society. Chairman Wang Baixing and the group have each year donated over ten million yuan to impoverished and disaster‑stricken areas. Actively pursuing employment‑driven poverty alleviation, Zhongli Group has, over the past five years, channeled part of its industrial investments into underdeveloped regions such as Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia, with total investments exceeding 5 billion yuan. The company has built six factories, creating jobs for more than 4,500 people in these areas—each earning an annual income averaging over 35,000 yuan—and helping more than 4,500 impoverished households escape poverty. Moreover, these initiatives have spurred the comprehensive development of supporting industries and other related sectors in the targeted regions.

During his speech, Chen Jie also presented and launched Zhongli Group’s innovative third-generation photovoltaic‑farm poverty‑alleviation project to the attending leaders and guests. The first generation primarily consists of commercial centralized PV poverty‑alleviation power stations, featuring an innovative “smart PV + agri‑tech” hybrid revenue model that provides farmers with multiple income streams: first, annual land‑lease payments; second, free return of the land beneath the PV panels to farmers for cultivation, with technical support from the Zhongli Photovoltaic Agriculture Research Institute to help them jointly develop crop and livestock production; and third, employment‑related earnings. The second‑generation “Poverty‑Stricken Village PV Farm” poverty‑alleviation initiative centers on village‑level PV power stations, serving as a micro‑scale version of the “smart PV + agri‑tech” approach. In line with industry‑wide poverty‑reduction principles—namely, decentralization, standardization, branding, and replicability—it establishes village‑based PV stations, each covering approximately 12 mu of land with a capacity not exceeding 500 kW, thereby enabling entire counties to achieve poverty eradication. The third‑generation “Household Sunshine Farm” project leverages farmers’ home courtyards to deploy residential PV systems, delivering targeted poverty alleviation directly to individual households.

Chen Jie, President of the Domestic Strategic Development Department at Zhongli Group–Talesun Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote address at the forum.

Representatives from poverty-stricken counties across the country expressed keen interest in Zhongli Group’s innovative poverty‑alleviation initiatives. During the on‑site negotiation and signing session held that afternoon, Zhongli Group signed “county‑wide poverty‑alleviation” agreements with 13 impoverished counties, including Minquan County in Henan, Wuzhong City in Ningxia, and Tongdao County in Hunan.

Zhongli Group and representatives from impoverished counties signed agreements on-site.