12th National Social Security Academic Conference Highlights Reform and Improvement of Social Security System

The 12th National Social Security Academic Conference has recently been held in Beijing. Guests attending the conference noted that a sound social security system can not only effectively prevent and resolve social risks and maintain social solidarity and integration, but also support the transformation of economic growth mode and high-quality development by balancing supply and demand sides. They emphasized that reform should be taken as the driving force to continuously improve the multi-level social security system with Chinese characteristics and empower high-quality economic development through institutional advantages.

Guo Shuqing, Vice Chairman of the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People’s Congress, stated that deepening the reform of social security can rapidly and steadily increase residents’ net income, thereby expanding domestic demand. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, social security can provide long-term patient capital for scientific and technological innovation, create more jobs featuring knowledge, labor and value intensity, promote labor mobility through social security connection, and drive urban-rural economic exchanges by integrating urban and rural social security systems, thus boosting economic development in multiple aspects.

Wang Dongjin, Consultant of the Chinese Society of Social Security and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, held the view that the 14th Five-Year Plan period is a critical stage for China’s medical security system to become more improved and mature. The coordinated development and governance of medical care, medical insurance and pharmaceutical sectors will be comprehensively promoted in both breadth and depth.

From the perspective of economic and social development, medical insurance is an important part of the overall layout of high-quality development; from the perspective of people’s livelihood security, it is a universal, basic and bottom-line livelihood construction; from the perspective of the evolution of the medical insurance system, the institutional system will upgrade towards integrity and systematicness, with the core essence of leaping from basic protection to multi-level and high-quality protection; from the perspective of strategic opportunities and challenges, opportunities coexist with challenges, but opportunities are dominant.

Zheng Gongcheng, President of the Chinese Society of Social Security, suggested that the key to promoting common prosperity lies in establishing a sound social security system, the key to improving the social security system is optimizing the social security system, and the key to optimizing the system is to uphold integrity and innovate. He stressed that the top priority at present is to “supplement the low-income groups and support the vulnerable groups”.

He added that efforts should be focused on increasing support for low-income and vulnerable groups, and the social security system should be built on collectivism and mutual assistance to support the realization of common prosperity.

The conference has gathered insights and suggestions from all sectors on the improvement of China’s social security system, which will provide important guidance for deepening social security reform, improving people’s well-being and promoting high-quality economic development in the next stage.