Accurately Grasping the Key Relationships in Developing a Distinctively Chinese Social Security System

By accurately understanding the key relationships involved in developing a distinctively Chinese social security system, we will be able to work in more targeted and creative ways, make sounder and more effective policies, and provide more efficient and convenient services. This will ensure we continue to secure achievements in advancing social security programs. The key relationships we must balance are as follows.

Goal-driven and problem-oriented approaches

A goal-driven approach will help keep social security work on the right path. A problem-oriented approach, on the other hand, will help us make progress along this path. Therefore, we must be both goal-driven and problem-oriented. We should not set objectives without considering real social issues, nor should we become so engrossed in specific problems that we lose sight of our overall objectives and direction. Being goal-driven means focusing on achieving high-quality and sustainable development in social security and carefully planning short-, medium-, and long-term tasks to move forward in a methodical and systematic way. Being problem-oriented means working to identify and address existing issues based on the goals we have set. We should make sustained efforts to shore up areas of weakness and shortcomings, with a focus on resolving key issues, which include expanding coverage, striking a balance in terms of benefits, improving institutions, and strengthening the system.

Systemic integration and key priorities

While developing China's social security arrangement is a systematic project, we also need to concentrate on certain key priorities in order to resolve the main challenges in this field. It is necessary to both make reform more cohesive and focus on delivering breakthroughs in key areas, with priority on the most urgent tasks. To promote system integration, we should ensure that our social security system is well-aligned with economic and social policies, linked to employment, wage distribution, and labor relations, and complemented by social assistance and social welfare programs. We should put a stronger focus on ensuring comprehensive coordination and integration across the entire chain, from system development and management to coverage expansion, benefit adjustments, fund oversight, service administration, risk prevention, and team development. In focusing on key priorities, we should pool resources for advancing major reforms and implementing key tasks in all areas and aspects of social security. In all of this, old-age pension reform should serve as a key lever for driving overall progress.

Unified standards and innovative explorations

While unified standards are vital in the development of the social security system, innovation is crucial for maintaining vitality. Therefore, we must both rigorously enforce national unified standards while also respecting explorative practices at the community level, in order to maintain the right balance between adhering to principles and promoting flexibility. Following unified standards means adhering to the principles of mutual aid and shared responsibility in social security, of the law of large numbers, and of steady enhancement of coordination and institutional constraints, so as to promote unified management nationwide. We should, on the basis of upholding unified standards, actively innovate measures for implementing policies and delivering services, with a focus on new situations and problems that have arisen. The aim should be to develop replicable and scalable practices that will help make the social security system and its services more flexible, inclusive, and adaptable.

Formulating policies and providing management and services

Policymaking lays the foundation for improvements to the social security system, while management and services ensure that policies are put into effect. We need to both make our policies more targeted, effective, and practicable and enhance our management and services. In policymaking, we must ensure we are providing high-quality policies that stand up in practice and the eyes of the people and are easy to implement at the community level. In providing management and services, we should see that, on the basis of well-conceived and enabling policies, we put in place a comprehensive management and services framework that is adapted to people's multi-level and diversified needs, with greater emphasis on providing more meticulous services. We should ensure that people clearly understand their interests and policy processes, and overcome the final hurdles in service provision to create as much convenience as possible for the people and businesses.

Development and secure performance

Development is a prerequisite for ensuring the secure performance of the social security system, while secure performance enables the development of social security programs. On the one hand, we need to ensure high-quality and sustainable development of social security programs to meet people's diversified needs, coordinate different interests, respond to social concerns, and resolve social problems. On the other hand, we need to prepare for worst-case scenarios and increase our awareness of risks, striking a balance between the pace of reform, the speed of development, and the capacity of society to cope with change. To develop social security programs, we must keep building up our institutions and systems and enhance our governance capacity and standard with regard to administering such programs. To ensure secure performance, we must pay more attention to preventing and defusing all kinds of risks and hidden dangers in the realm of social security, with a focus on changes in public opinion, the security of fund payment processes, fund supervision and management, cyber and data security, and other major areas. This will help foster an environment that enables smooth and stable operations within the social security system.

Editor：Nie Qiaoyu