On Thursday Xi Jinping will oversee a ceremony commemorating victory in the war on poverty. The event will be broadcast live.

The Wednesday People's Daily has a 22,500 character article on Xi's leadership in winning the war on poverty- "A historic leap: The starting point of a new struggle-- Overview of General Secretary Xi Jinping's Important Discourses on Winning the War on Poverty Alleviation 历史性的跨越 新奋斗的起点". The article starts on Page 1, and takes up about 1/5 of that page, then takes up all of pages 2 and 3. I am struggling to remember the last time I saw such a long article in the People's Daily.

Officially ending poverty is a massive achievement. Yes there are still problems, but it is undeniable that the material well-being of so many millions has dramatically improved. The Party is well aware of the remaining challenges, and that is one of the main reasons there is now the National Administration of Rural Revitalization.

Politically of course victory is incredibly valuable to th…