China's job market remains stable in H1

China maintained overall stability in its job market during the first half of 2025, with the combined balance of three major social insurance funds reaching 9.83 trillion yuan (about 1.37 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of June, official data showed Tuesday.

At a press conference held in Beijing, Cui Pengcheng, a spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that China added 6.95 million more urban jobs nationwide in the first half of the year, accomplishing 58 percent of this year's target. In June, the surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5 percent, remaining flat compared with one year earlier.

The ministry reported that lowering unemployment insurance premiums reduced corporate labor expenses by more than 90 billion yuan (about 12.5 billion U.S. dollars). Enterprises received 6.2 billion yuan (about 860 million U.S. dollars) in job retention subsidies, while vocational training and other employment promotion programs were supported by an extra 11.3 billion yuan (about 1.57 billion U.S. dollars) in funding.

"We implemented a series of support measures, including expanding job opportunities through multiple channels, increasing financial assistance to enterprises, and introducing one-off subsidies for job creation as well as a one-time staffing and funding expansion policy for state-owned enterprises. These efforts contributed to overall employment stability," said Cui.

China's basic retirement insurance, unemployment insurance, and work-related injury insurance funds recorded a total revenue of 4.53 trillion yuan (around 631 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2025. The combined expenditure of the three funds stood at 3.89 trillion yuan (around 542 billion U.S. dollars), with a cumulative balance of 9.83 trillion yuan (around 1.37 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of June. Overall, the operation of the funds remained stable, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the modernization of China's social security card program has continued to progress. The number of cardholders nationwide has reached 1.39 billion, covering 98.9 percent of the population. Among them, more than 1 billion people have been issued electronic social security cards, covering 77.9 percent of the population.

China's job market remains stable in H1

Spanish students have expressed their expectation that a healthy China-U.S. economic and trade relationship will inject greater stability into the global economy and create greater opportunities for Spain.

On Sunday, Chinese and U.S. delegations convened in Paris, France for talks on economic and trade issues. Guided by the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Busan and their subsequent phone talks, the two sides will conduct consultations on economic and trade matters of mutual concern.

Ahead of the talks, members of the public in Madrid, Spain, shared their views on China–U.S. economic and trade relations with China Media Group (CMG). They agreed that reaching an agreement between the world’s two largest economies would have a direct impact on the global landscape.

"They are the two countries that contribute the most economically, in a manner of speaking, to the rest of the countries. They are major importers and exporters. So I think that a satisfactory relationship between them can be very beneficial for all other countries," said Claudia, an engineering student.

Noting that both sides are important trading partners of Spain, the interviewees stated that a healthy, stable and sustainable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship also affects various aspects of the Spanish society, and that agreements between the two countries would help promote Spain's economic growth.

"I do think that it could have a certain effect on the Spanish economy, both in terms of prices, and I would dare say employment as well. Because I think that if those two great powers reach an agreement, Spain could also get in on the action. It would create quite a few jobs in Chinese and American multinationals for all Spaniards," said Claudia.

"Spain is caught in the middle; it has good relations with both the U.S. and China. If it gets on the bad side of either one, it could be hit hard, because Spain mainly relies on tourism -- well, other things too, but essentially tourism, construction and agriculture. It's very important to have more help and trade with all countries around the world," said Denis, a law student.

Spanish students say stable China-US ties benefit global economy