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

A carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and liquefaction facility now runs smoothly in south China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), signaling a major technological advance in the region's push toward green and low-carbon development.

The facility, located in Hainan's Chengmai County, was developed by Southern Petroleum Exploration and Development Corporation -- a Hainan-based subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) -- which focuses on oil and gas exploration and new energy development.

It captures, purifies and liquefies CO2 extracted from associated oilfield gas, with daily output of liquid CO2 now surpassing 100 metric tonnes.

"To date, our pilot project has cumulatively stored 360,000 tonnes of CO2 while boosting oil and gas output by 150,000 tonnes. This is equivalent to offsetting the annual carbon emissions of about 150,000 cars," said Wang Haisheng, executive director of Southern Petroleum Exploration and Development Corporation.

Building on its successful industrialization of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), the corporation is now pioneering advanced carbon storage technologies.

By refining capture technology and implementing a multi-dimensional monitoring network, the project has achieved long-term and stable CO2 storage, solidifying the foundation for a safe and low-carbon energy system in Hainan.

CO2 capture, storage facility makes tech advance