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
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he had a phone conversation with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to discuss the end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
In a video statement posted to social media platform X, Zelensky said both sides have "good ideas for lasting peace". He stressed that Ukraine is working around the clock to bring closer the end to the conflict and to ensure that all documents and steps are "realistic, effective, and reliable."
The two sides discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work, the Ukrainian president said, adding that they have "good ideas that can work toward a shared outcome and the lasting peace."
He expressed the hope that the understandings and the ideas discussed between the two sides can be useful.
Zelensky added that Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation and secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, held follow-up communication with Witkoff and Kushner later during the day.
The latest development came after Zelensky has recently unveiled a 20-point draft peace plan, which was agreed on by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators and is being reviewed by Russia.
On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is analyzing the peace proposal on Ukraine submitted by Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, following his recent meeting with U.S. officials.
"We are analyzing these materials, and subsequently, in accordance with the decision made by the Head of State, we will continue consultations with the U.S. side," Peskov said.
Earlier, Peskov said Dmitriev had briefed President Vladimir Putin on the outcomes of his trip to Miami.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told at a press briefing on Thursday that negotiations with the United States are progressing "slowly but steadily."
She said that Russia is "ready to continue working within the framework defined at the highest level in Anchorage," referring to summit between President Putin and President Donald Trump in Alaska this August.
Zakharova also accused Western European states of "torpedoing" the diplomatic progress.
She also added that Russia is ready to formally state in a written document that it has no intention to attack NATO or EU countries.
Also on Thursday, Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, said his company had received information concerning the United States' willingness to cooperate with Russia on the issue of electricity supply from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
He said that some of the electricity from the Zaporizhzhia plant may be transmitted to Ukraine in the future, but the specific volume needs to be determined through negotiations.
Zelensky holds phone conversation with U.S. envoys as Russia analyzes peace proposal
