China has enhanced social safety net: government minister

China has strengthened its social safety net and advanced systemic reforms in civil affairs over the past year, supporting the nation's broader socioeconomic goals, Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the national civil affairs work conference, Lu praised the enhancement of the sector's legal and regulatory framework, which he described as crucial for effective law enforcement.

He highlighted key policies introduced to improve funeral services, support children in distress, and enhance care for people with severe disabilities.

Notable progress includes revisions to regulations on marriage registration, funeral management, social assistance, and the administration of charitable foundations.

Lu added that local authorities have vigorously addressed misconduct within the sector through targeted campaigns. These efforts have raised professional standards and encouraged proactive, innovative approaches to public service.

Over the past year, the social assistance system provided substantial support to vulnerable groups, the minister said.

Subsistence allowances, or dibao, reached 39.104 million urban and rural residents, while 4.86 million people facing extreme financial hardship received additional targeted aid.

Support was also extended in 625,000 instances to individuals without stable livelihoods, including homeless people and those forced to beg for subsistence.

Efforts to protect vulnerable groups were intensified, including a comprehensive national census on left-behind and migrant children to better understand their situations and needs.

A targeted campaign was also launched to assess and address the psychological support needs of the country's approximately 567,000 orphans and unsupervised children, ensuring their mental well-being is actively supported.

Lu said that a dynamic adjustment mechanism for disability subsidies was further refined to keep pace with economic changes. The policy has benefited about 11.9 million financially strained persons with disabilities and provided vital assistance to 16.64 million individuals with severe disabilities.

Significant progress was also made in elderly care, with improvements in both policy support and service quality. To date, age-friendly modifications have been completed in 2.24 million households of seniors with special needs, 86,000 community canteens for the elderly have been set up, and the nationwide network of elder-care institutions and facilities now totals 396,000. Within these facilities, 67.5 percent of available beds are equipped to care for disabled or semi-disabled seniors.

Public services were streamlined, facilitating more than 452,000 cross-jurisdiction marriage registrations for out-of-towners.

Meanwhile, the charity sector continued to grow, with 16,000 charitable organizations now officially registered. Thirty-two accredited online charity platforms have collectively raised about 160 billion yuan ($22.8 billion). Welfare lottery sales in the past year reached 207 billion yuan, generating 56 billion yuan for public welfare programs.

"These accomplishments reflect the effective implementation of the major development goals, key tasks, and projects outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for civil affairs," Lu said.

He emphasized that the collective measures have reinforced the social safety net, accelerated aging-related initiatives, and steadily improved specialized social services. This overall progress, he concluded, provides solid support for achieving the country's broader socioeconomic development objectives.