A year ago, the Chinese government announced that it had eliminated absolute poverty in China, a month before President Xi Jinping’s self-imposed deadline for achieving his signature aim. To meet this goal, the central government has spent tens of billions of dollars — almost $21 billion in 2020 alone — steadily ratcheting up anti-poverty spending every year this century.  Data: National Bureau of Statistics China Statistical Yearbook But where has all of this money gone? Much attention has focused on the campaign’s impact on individual residents via the construction of new homes, food donations, and controversially, forced relocation of rural residents. But companies, not individuals, have arguably benefited the most in financial terms. A review of company registrations carried out by The Wire found thousands of Chinese companies, ranging widely in value, with apparent links to the poverty alleviation campaign. This week we examine what their existence reveals ab