China is expecting more international assistance to relieve poverty, to address health issues and the AIDS epidemic, a senior official said in Beijing Tuesday.

Yi Xiaozhun, assistant minister of commerce, told a group of delegates from international organizations and local Chinese officials that China is still a developing country and needs assistance.

There are 30 million people in rural areas in urgent need of adequate food and clothing. And the people's average income has just reached US$1,000, far from the standard set by the United Nations for medium and lower income countries, he said.

"China is still a developing country with a huge population," Yi said at a meeting. "China's productivity level is relatively backward and regional differences in development still big. China also has an increasing number of senior citizens and migrant laborers."

China has received altogether US$5.6 billion of assistance from international bodies and foreign countries since 1979. The assistance was destined for 1,000 projects ranging from poverty reduction to prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.

The contributors were the UN Development Program, the UN Population Fund, the UN Children's Fund, the World Bank, the European Union and the Asian Development Bank, and more than 20 countries including Britain, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Japan and Australia.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2004)