State-owned equity to top up social insurance

The State Council has called for full implementation of its policies to reduce employers’ contributions to social insurance schemes to lighten corporate burdens and ensure pensions are paid on time and in full.

In a statement released after an executive meeting on July 10, the Cabinet said social insurance funds are operating steadily and are able to ensure payments on time and in full, despite fee reduction measures.

The authorities must gain firsthand information on delivery of the policies and corporate feedback, and promptly address problems as they arise, the statement said.

China unveiled measures to cut corporate contributions to the social insurance scheme in March as part of tax cuts and fee reductions totaling 2 trillion yuan ($290.9 billion).

The statement said the measures delivered notable effects in the first half of the year, with companies’ spending on workers’ basic pensions, unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance down by over 128 billion yuan.

The meeting also called for consistency in payment formats. The share borne by employers for workers’ basic aged-care insurance must be kept at no higher than 16 percent.

For provincial areas with varying payment rates and bases, no policy adjustment will be made this year.

It also urged local authorities to shoulder their pension payment responsibilities and make sure no pensioners are left behind.

To make social security funds more sustainable, Cabinet members decided to roll out measures to replenish social security funds through the injection of State capital.

More transparency in budget management

The State Council has urged rectification of problems found during the auditing of budget enforcement and fiscal revenues and expenditures last year.

Local authorities and government departments must amend the problems, and report the amendments to the State Council before the end of October, the Cabinet said after an executive meeting on July 10.

The State Council also urged more transparency and constraint of power in budget management, adding that arbitrary spending must be phased out through the use of performance assessments.

As the government tightens its belt, more fiscal spending must be directed to ensure growth and public livelihood, and tax cuts and fee reduction policies must be implemented fully.

Legal aid coverage to be expanded nationwide

China will speed up the development of a public legal service system with measures to expand the reach of legal aid, according to a guideline published on July 10.

The guideline, jointly released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, set a target of developing modern public legal service system that is convenient, efficient and accessible in urban and rural areas before 2022.

Noting that public legal services are an important measure to improve people’s living standards, the guideline called for efforts to establish public legal services in less developed areas.