China’s economic reform has broken down institutional barriers that had prevented the movement and allocation of production factors, facilitated an exodus of laborers from low-productivity employment sectors and the movement of labor between rural and urban areas, across regions, and among industries, improved allocative efficiency, thereby not only creating the necessary conditions for rapid economic growth, but also increasing the income of rural households by enhancing their participation in nonfarm sectors, and achieving development and shared prosperity. In parallel with this, the Chinese government launched a dedicated rural poverty alleviation and development strategy. As the stage of development and the nature of poverty change over time, the strategy has also evolved, reflecting shifting priorities. The strategy effectively addressed the diminishing marginal utility of poverty alleviation efforts, and achieved widely recognized success in poverty reduction. By reviewing the process of China’s reform and development over the past 40 years from the perspective of poverty reduction, this paper first reveals the sources of China’s economic growth and illustrates that sharing is inherent to development. It then reviews the implementation of the national strategy of rural poverty alleviation to show how it reflects the people-centered development approach. It summarizes the good practices and experience of China’s poverty alleviation campaign and what other countries can learn from these. In conclusion, it points out new challenges faced by China’s poverty alleviation after the country eliminates poverty as defined by the current standard by 2020, and puts forward corresponding policy recommendations.