China has beefed up social welfare for vulnerable groups including people in need, orphans and the disabled in 2024, according to the country's Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).
This year, China has rolled out the identification of low-income households on the edge of social assistance and families facing rigid expenditure difficulties.
The MCA has also strengthened dynamic monitoring and ongoing support for low-income populations.
The national dynamic monitoring platform for low-income populations now tracks 80.59 million people, approximately 5.7 percent of the total population.
At the same time, a data-sharing mechanism involving 12 departments, including the MCA and the Ministry of Education, has been established for regular data comparisons on low-income populations. This year, 26 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have raised the subsistence allowances.
Additionally, welfare levels for children in need and disabled individuals have steadily improved this year.
In terms of child welfare, the per capita monthly standard for children in institutional care, children in social foster care and children without guardianship have reached 1,971.4 yuan (about 270 U.S. dollars), 1,511.9 yuan (more than 207 U.S. dollars) and 1,500.7 yuan (about 205 U.S. dollars), respectively.
These amounts represent year-on-year increases of 4.5 percent, 5 percent and 5.1 percent.
As for the welfare of disabled people, 25 provinces increased the living subsidies for those in financial difficulty and the care subsidies for those with severe disabilities this year.
Meanwhile, 16 provinces expanded the eligibility criteria for subsidies, benefiting 11.93 million disabled people in need and 16.19 million with severe disabilities.
China's social welfare for vulnerable groups improves further in 2024
Russian and Kenyan experts have hailed China's Central Economic Work Conference as a pivotal moment in shaping China's economic future, with its resilience offering a stabilizing force for the global market.
Their comments followed the annual Central Economic Work Conference, held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the conference, in which he reviewed the country's economic work in 2025, analyzed the current economic situation, and arranged next year's economic work.
Vasily Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the HSE University, emphasized the significance of the meeting.
"This conference is of great significance. It is not only related to the assessment of China's current economic situation, but also outlined the priorities for the future, including the next five-year plan. There has been a renewed emphasis on the significant role of new quality productive forces, new growth points, and sci-tech development. This economic work conference places a greater emphasis on action. The content of the meeting covers various economic indicators that China hopes to achieve in the near future and involves a series of specific measures aimed at optimizing economic quality and ensuring sustainable development," he said.
Kashin said China's economic progress reflects a shift towards high-tech, sustainable industries and environmental improvements.
"The achievements of China's economy are primarily related to the changes in the export structure and the sources of growth. Enterprises in the high-tech, digital economy, and renewable energy fields are playing an increasingly important role. Their product exports are on the rise, which include electrical transportation equipment, latest types of vehicles, and complex industrial equipment. This is a very important achievement. China has also carried out a great deal of work in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing the ecological environment, and raising ecological standards. These are the main achievements China has made so far," said Kashin.
Meanwhile, James Shikwati, a Kenyan economist and director of the Inter-Region Economic Network, hailed China's economic resilience over the past five years.
"China's show of economic resilience for the last five years has given the global economic sector a stabilizing factor, because right now, as you speak, many countries are in panic mode because of protectionism that is rising, especially in developed economies such as the U.S. and Europe. And China has been showing this steadiness that its economy is able to withstand those shocks, and by showing that it can withstand those shocks, it gives hope to other economies, especially from the Global South, that have always heavily dependent on Western economies," said Shikwati.
Shikwati added that China's openness to new markets offers opportunities for developing countries worldwide.
"China's opening up to the world, what it is doing is offering an alternative platform, not necessarily stopping people from the old platform, but simply creating what I'll call some kind of fresh air in the global market system, so that countries, especially from the Global South, can access its markets," he said.
Int'l experts hail China's economic resilience with high-quality development
