East China’s Jiangsu province has reported improved livelihood through continuous reform and opening-up over the past 45 years. JSBC has the story.
Since the reform and opening-up, urban and rural residents in Jiangsu have recorded an increase in disposable income from 288 yuan and 155 yuan in 1978 to 60178 yuan and 28486 yuan in 2022.
Statistics show that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Jiangsu has recorded 14 million urban employments, with an average annual increase of about 1.41 million people, consistently ranking among the top in the country. Jiangsu has supported 3.046 million urban and rural workers to start their own businesses, effectively promoting employment growth.
“The national and provincial policies on entrepreneurship for college students are getting better and better. The profits of my farm are also increasing every year, with annual sales of around 2.5 million. So far, I have employed about 50 people,” said Mao Dan, College student returning hometown for business and the head of Gutian Farm.
In the 45 years of reform and opening-up, the social security system has gone from scratch to excellence. The province has established a unified and fair social pension insurance system for urban and rural residents. Approximately 21 million retired employees and elderly residents receive full monthly pension benefits.
Jiangsu has initially formed a multi-level and widely covered national medical insurance system, with nearly 81 million people in the province included in basic medical insurance.
Jiangsu has continued to promote housing system reform. Nanjing has implemented monetization of public rental housing. Taizhou has implemented a sunshine guarantee policy. Changzhou has launched talent apartments, enabling more new citizens and young people to realize their dream of urban settlement. By the end of 2023, Jiangsu has renovated approximately 14 thousand old residential areas, benefiting approximately 5 million households.
Since the new era, Jiangsu has insisted on investing over 75% of its general public budget expenditures in the field of people's livelihood.
“This place is relatively new, with new appliances and furniture. The government provides a living rental subsidy of 800 yuan, and I only need to pay less than 1000 yuan in rent per month, which is quite convenient for us young people,” said Wang Huan, Young Resident of Changzhou Lanling Talent Apartment.
“We have actively promoted the equalization of basic medical and health services on the island, improved our capabilities and optimized our processes, truly serving as the health steward for the residents on the island,” said Hu Xiaozhong, Dean of Shiye Town Health Center, Dantu District, Zhenjiang City.
“We provide basic services such as meal assistance, bathing assistance, leisure and entertainment, rehabilitation therapy, as well as home service for the elderly, so that the elderly in the county can have a better sense of happiness and achievement,” said Chen Jingfeng, Head of the Intelligent Elderly Care Service Center in Jianhu County, Yancheng City.
