China Prepares to Expand Public Assistance to Low-Income Residents

China plans to roll out new rules to expand special social assistance to more people having trouble making ends meet, a move that could benefit some 63 million people currently being tracked as part of the country’s poverty eradication campaign.

The new rules will apply to around 6.1 million people on the cusp of qualifying for China’s basic living allowance, as well as another 6.8 million under temporary financial strain, according to Liu Xitang, head of the Department of Social Assistance at the Ministry of Civil Affairs. That’s on top of the 45 million poor who already receive some form of government assistance.