Xia Sen, former researcher of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, attends a grand gathering to mark the nation's poverty alleviation accomplishments and honor model poverty fighters at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

At Thursday's gathering, Xi presented medals, certificates and plaques to role models from the country's anti-poverty fight. He also joined other Chinese leaders in presenting awards to individuals and groups for their outstanding achievements in the fight against penury.

The recipients include villagers, Party members dispatched to villages to fight poverty, grassroots officials and college researchers. Some of them were honored posthumously.

Shi Jintong, a village Party chief in central China's Hunan Province, accepted an award on behalf of his village. Shi's village -- Shibadong -- is where Xi, during a visit in 2013, put forward the "targeted poverty alleviation" strategy that was instrumental in the success of China's poverty eradication campaign.

"I feel so honored to meet the general secretary again, yet I am confident at the same time as we have accomplished the task of poverty eradication," Shi said.

But not all of China's anti-poverty champions lived to see this day.

Over the past eight years, more than 1,800 people died fighting poverty on the front lines.

Xi acknowledged these fallen heroes at Thursday's event, saying that their sacrifice and contributions "will never be forgotten by the Party, the people and the republic."