China strives to improve livelihoods across the board

BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Just two hours after filling out her application forms on a local public services app, new graduate Ma Xin secured a free, well-furnished apartment in a local "youth station" in the bustling city of Nanjing.

The popular youth stations serve as a welcoming first stop for many young job-seekers like Ma who have ventured away from home.

Ma can reside in the apartment, which is equipped with a full range of appliances and products, free of charge for up to 14 days as she transitions from campus life to the workplace.

The program also offers shuttle services and study rooms for its residents, and employs expert career coaches who provide personalized guidance both online and on-site. Regular job fairs also connect residents with employment opportunities right at their doorstep.

Jiangsu Province launched youth stations in 2021 as a public welfare initiative, offering free transitional housing for young job-seekers. By this August, there were 176 youth stations across the province, benefiting over 41,000 young people.

These youth stations are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to China's extensive efforts to bolster employment. In recent years, the country has organized numerous specialized job fairs for key sectors in cutting-edge fields and specific regions.

This year alone, the central government allocated a budget of 66.7 billion yuan (about 9.51 billion U.S. dollars) for employment subsidies, and central authorities released 11 policy measures aimed at stabilizing employment.

As a result, the country of over 1.4 billion people has achieved relatively full employment. In 2023, there were 740.41 million people in employment nationwide. From 2013 to 2023, over 140 million new urban jobs were created, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate remained stable.

Employment is the most basic component of the people's well-being, affecting all households. As the People's Republic of China celebrates its 75th founding anniversary, it remains steadfast in its commitment to prioritizing the needs of its people.

Over the decades, the country has worked tirelessly to elevate the living standards and enhance the welfare of its people in every area impacting their daily lives.

ADDRESSING URGENT NEEDS

"Medical insurance has brought hope for life to our family," said the father of a child battling Fabry disease, a rare genetic disorder, in east China's Jiangxi Province. Thanks to the inclusion of his child's medication in the medical insurance drug catalog, its cost per unit has plummeted from 12,000 yuan to about 3,000 yuan.

"Thanks to reimbursement from medical insurance and other insurance programs, our annual expenses amount to 40,000 yuan," he said.

Currently, China's medical insurance drug catalog includes over 3,000 medications, including those for unusual and rare diseases, benefiting roughly 720 million patients and saving them over 700 billion yuan in expenses.

Over 75 years, China has established the world's largest medical security network, covering over 1.3 billion people.

Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the integration of urban and rural medical insurance and the comprehensive implementation of the Healthy China Initiative have made accessing medical treatment easier and more affordable.

Moreover, the country has worked tirelessly to fine-tune its population services system with a focus on elderly care and child care.

With concrete measures such as the improvement of the elderly care services oversight mechanism and the promotion of silver economy development, China has established the world's largest old-age insurance system, with over 1.06 billion people covered by basic old-age insurance by 2023.

Addressing issues related to childcare services, the country has been pooling resources constantly to establish a robust public services system for preschool education with extensive coverage.

DEEPENING REFORM FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

In Xiaogang Village, located in Anhui Province's Fengyang County, major grain producer Cheng Xibing runs a family farm, which is equipped with a standardized seedling cultivation factory and storage facility. He manages over 700 mu (about 46.67 hectares) of farmland, which were transferred to him by his fellow villagers.

Xiaogang Village is seen as the birthplace of China's household contract responsibility system, which allocates collective land to individual households, allowing farmers to manage their own production and retain the majority of their harvests.

Last year, Cheng's net income from grain production and related services topped 700,000 yuan. His success mirrors the experiences of many others who have thrived as a result of various reforms.

Thanks to an array of policy measures designed to deepen reforms enhancing people's livelihoods, including the expansion of channels to increase personal incomes and the refinement of the country's income distribution system, Chinese people now enjoy more prosperous lives.

In 2023, the per capita disposable income of China's residents climbed to 39,218 yuan, surging by 76 times in real terms from 1949, translating to an impressive average annual growth rate of 6 percent.

In addition to its remarkable achievement of eradicating absolute poverty, China has made notable progress in coordinating urban and rural development, narrowing the per capita disposable income ratio of its urban and rural residents from 2.88:1 in 2012 to 2.39:1 in 2023.

Over the years, the accelerated construction of government-subsidized housing, the vigorous development of cultural and sports undertakings, the constant enhancement of ecological conservation and other measures to improve people's livelihoods have ensured that the gains of reform and development are shared equitably, delivering a greater sense of fulfillment to the Chinese people as they contribute to and gain from development.