China's social welfare for vulnerable groups improves further in 2024

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

As much as 37 percent of Americans saw their debt increase during this year's holiday shopping season, with average debt rising to 1,223 U.S. dollars from 1,181 dollars last year, according to the latest holiday debt survey of LendingTree, the nation's online loan marketplace.

The survey, conducted earlier this month among more than 2,000 U.S. consumers, found that rising tariffs and higher prices have put additional pressure on household budgets.

In a statement, LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst Matt Schulz said the strain becomes more pronounced during the holiday season, as many consumers are reluctant to change long-standing shopping traditions, even as costs rise, leading to higher debt levels.

According to the survey, 63 percent of borrowers expect it will take three months or longer to repay their holiday-related debt, while about 41 percent said they are still paying off debt from last year. Schulz warned that if borrowers need six months to a year or more to repay their balances, the situation becomes more serious due to high credit card interest rates.

Data from Bankrate show that the average U.S. credit card interest rate currently exceeds 20 percent.

Meanwhile, U.S. consumers have grown increasingly pessimistic about their financial situation. Data released on Tuesday by The Conference Board showed that the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index fell for the fifth consecutive month in December, dropping to 89.1, the lowest level since April, amid deepening anxiety over jobs and income.

Over one-third of Americans rack up holiday debt: survey