The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help the Chinese government to unleash the potential of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to reduce property through a monetary assistance of 1 million US dollars, an ADB report said Tuesday.

The technical assistance (TA) will build a comprehensive framework for mainstreaming NGOs into China's national poverty alleviation efforts, especially at the village level, according to the report.

The ADB added that Jiangxi province was selected to host a pilot test because of its strong support and capacity for policy experimentation, and its persistent pockets of poverty in rural areas.

"The project builds on strong foresight and support from the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP), Ministry of Finance, and partner agencies in Jiangxi Province," the report quoted Christopher Spohr, an ADB social sector economist as saying. The Chinese government will maintain a key guiding role in poverty reduction, but international experience shows that government-NGO cooperation can tap important complementarities, according to Spohr.

The TA, granted from ADB's Poverty Reduction Coordination Fund,will be implemented through October 2007, with LGOP acting as executing agency.

Source: Xinhua