The Paper.cn:

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress pointed out that we will further improve the multi-tiered social security system that covers the entire population in urban and rural areas and see that it is fair, unified, reliable, well-regulated, and sustainable. I want to ask, what measures will be taken to improve the construction of the social security system? Thank you. 

Wang Xiaoping:

Thank you for your question. The social security system provides a safety net for people's livelihoods and helps ensure social stability. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has placed greater emphasis on developing the social security network. The committee has strengthened top-level design, continued to deepen reforms and rolled out a series of significant and crucial reform measures. For instance, we have established a unified basic pension insurance scheme for rural and non-working urban residents and brought government office and public institution pension schemes into line with enterprise schemes. The social security system has undergone continuous improvement in terms of its uniformity and standardization. The government launched a nationwide program for the unified management and adjustment of pension insurance funds for urban workers, and the functions of mutual assistance and redistribution were further strengthened. The enterprise annuity and personal pension systems were put in place, and the framework of a multi-level pension insurance system was established. In addition, occupational injury insurance trials have been conducted, and the government is actively exploring expanding insurance coverage for employees in new business forms. The government is also promoting building a "three-in-one" system of work-related injury insurance, which encompasses prevention, compensation, and rehabilitation, and further highlighting the functions of unemployment insurance to protect life, prevent unemployment and promote employment. The systematic, integral, and synergistic nature of the reform has been strengthened, providing people with corresponding institutional guarantees against risks such as old age, unemployment, work-related injuries, and poverty.

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasized the need to further improve the multi-tiered social security system that covers the entire population in urban and rural areas and see that it is fair, unified, reliable, well-regulated, and sustainable. This fully reflects the deep understanding of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core on the developmental laws of social security in the new era and provides us with a fundamental guideline. We will focus closely on meeting these requirements and implementing them earnestly. There are several key tasks, which can be summarized as "one expansion," "two improvements," and "three upgrades."

"One expansion" refers to expanding the coverage of social insurance programs. Specifically, it involves further implementing full coverage of social insurance and expanding coverage precisely based on the characteristics of key groups, such as employees working in new forms of business and migrant workers, through the implementation of classified policies. We need to improve insurance policies for workers in flexible employment at their place of employment and encourage more workers in flexible employment to participate in the basic old-age insurance funds for employees. Additionally, we need to steadily implement trials of occupational injury insurance for people in new forms of employment.

"Two improvements" refer to two areas of improvement. The first area is to improve the multi-level pension insurance system. This involves deepening the reform of basic pension schemes, exploring measures to expand the coverage of enterprise annuities, actively and steadily implementing the personal pension system, and meeting the diverse pension needs of the people. The second area is to improve the adjustment mechanism for social insurance benefits, allowing people to better share the benefits of economic and social development.

"Three upgrades" refer to three areas that need to be improved. The first upgrade is to enhance the level of unified management. This includes promoting the unified national management of enterprise pension insurance, increasing fund adjustments, and promoting unified provincial-level management of unemployment and work-related injury insurance. The second upgrade is to strengthen the ability to supervise funds. This involves further strengthening the "four-in-one" risk prevention and control system for policy, operations, information, and supervision, organizing and launching special actions for fund management, and enhancing investment supervision. The third upgrade is to improve the quality of service. This means improving the unified national social insurance public service platform with the social insurance card as the carrier, establishing an all-in-one card system, and promoting the handling of more high-frequency matters through a single network and across provinces, aiming to minimize inconvenience for the public. Mr. Li Zhong has introduced the application of the all-in-one card in Sichuan, Chongqing, Hainan, Guangdong, and other places. The "three provinces and one city" (Jiangsu province, Anhui province, Zhejiang province, and Shanghai city) in the Yangtze River Delta region have developed coordinated legislation and compiled a list of items to clarify social security services. Cardholders can therefore enjoy corresponding benefits in social security, transportation, cultural tourism, employment, financial services, and other fields. Moreover, the innovative application of social security cards can be further expanded in various economic and social areas. These are valuable experiences that need to be summarized and promoted.

Next, we will prioritize the improvement of the social security system as a means of achieving common prosperity. This will lay a solid foundation to make people's well-being more secure while promoting the high-quality and sustainable development of social security. Thank you.