China to aid low-income groups struggling as result of pandemic

China will scale up its relief measures for low-income groups struggling from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic with the issuance of more special subsidies to guarantee their living standards, according to a statement released after a meeting of the State Council on Friday.

The State Council executive meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, highlighted the need to offer more support to low-income groups with the nearing of the Spring Festival, China's most important holiday, which falls on Feb 12 this year.

As part of enhanced relief measures, the government will ensure adequate market supply and the stable price of commodities and will issue subsidies to those covered by the social aid programs in the event of price hikes, the statement said.

It pledged to step up monitoring on population groups that already have been lifted out of poverty and those living precariously near the poverty line to ensure the social safety net can extend to those in need.

Local authorities and relevant departments must come up with sound plans to help migrant workers and college students who choose not to return home for the holiday and ramp up care and support to children left without care from migrant worker parents and senior residents, it said.

The meeting also stressed the need to help orphans and the disabled solve their life difficulties and ensure the living standards of groups hit by summer floods.

Authorities at various levels must make full use of the 100 billion-yuan relief package rolled out by central finance to ensure the funding will be adequately used to guarantee public livelihoods, the statement said.

With some are including parts of Hebei and Heilongjiang provinces recently imposing lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, the meeting called for parallel efforts for epidemic containment and ensuring the supply of daily necessities for the public.