BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 700,000 college students have joined a rural vitalization program since it was launched in March, China's Education Ministry has said.

First proposed in 2017, the program is being held for the second time under the China College Students "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

The ministry said 140,000 teams from universities and colleges across China have taken innovation projects to rural areas to help boost local economies and advance social development.

China plans to reduce its poor rural population by over 10 million in 2018, as part of its efforts to eradicate poverty by 2020.