Foreign Entrepreneur Assists China in Poverty Reduction

Editor's note: China is in the final push to achieve its target of poverty eradication and build a moderately prosperous society in all respects in 2020. Many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from Central China's Hunan Province have fulfilled their responsibilities in poverty alleviation and made utmost efforts to assist the impoverished over past years. This series tells us the story of a Brazilian entrepreneur who joined forces with a SOE in China's battle against poverty.

Fernando Teixeira is CEO of Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel Co., Ltd.(VAMA), a Loudi-based joint venture between Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd. and one of the world's largest steelmaking companies, ArcelorMittal. [Photo/Rednet.cn]

Fernando Teixeira is CEO of Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel Co., Ltd.(VAMA), a joint venture between Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd. and one of the world's largest steelmaking companies, ArcelorMittal. It's based in Loudi, Central China's Hunan province.

Since Teixeira came to Hunan five years ago, VAMA has played crucial roles in the structural transformation of the local steel industry. The joint venture saw its revenue rise by nearly 30 percent to 4.7 billion yuan ($ 711.4 million) in the first three quarters of this year and its profits grow by 59.7 percent in the same period to 234 million yuan.

Teixeira and his teammates entered a partnership of assistance with Dikang, an impoverished village in the city of Loudi in 2019. It was an example of the popular measure taken by employees of government agencies and SOEs in which they join the campaign of poverty reduction in China.

Thanks to his wholehearted efforts, Teixeira quickly overcame ethnic and cultural barriers and developed a closer relationship with local people. He even earned a nickname "Foreign Official" from them in appreciation of his assistance.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee of VAMA and its managerial team have persisted in visiting the village throughout 2019 from the very beginning. Teixeira has always joined the poverty alleviation team and tried his utmost to make a difference to the lives of local people because the village shares some similarities with his hometown in Brazil.

Teixeira sends books and goods to local people and talks with them about Chinese policies on poverty alleviation when he visits them each time. Meanwhile, he often purchases agricultural produce from them in a move to further boost their family income to assist the impoverished.

Teixeira and the CPC Committee of VAMA have held several meetings on how to expand the sales channel of the local cattle breeding industry and help its people steadily increase their annual income.

In addition, education is another highlight on the agenda of Teixeira's poverty alleviation efforts at the village. He decided to financially assist a girl from an impoverished family in the completion of her compulsory education when he heard of her difficulties at home.

With Teixeira's support, the girl went to an extracurricular class institution in Loudi and greatly improved her academic performance in the summer holiday.

Speaking in a recent interview, Teixeira said that he will keep his promise to the girl even after he leaves China in the future.

Teixeira's personal participation in VAMA's poverty alleviation has further deepened his understanding the resolution of Chinese government in poverty eradication. 

He said that the joint venture will continually fulfill its social responsibilities in poverty reduction and that he is pleased to contribute his strength to the battle against poverty in China.

A letter written by a teen recipient surnamed Wang to Fernando Teixeira for his benevolent assistance [Photo/Rednet.cn]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)