Social Development Trends and Achievements Over 40 Years

In the 40 years since the reform and opening-up policy was adopted， China has had fi ve major achievements in social development.

First， peoples well-being has improved and the middle-income group has expanded. In 2017 the per-capita disposable income of Chinese residents reached 25，974 yuan （$3，770）， a real growth nearly 22.8 times more than in 1978 after deducting price factors. The average annual growth was 8.5 percent. Per-capita consumption expenditure stood at 18，322 yuan （$2，659）， a real growth 18 times more over 1978， with an average annual growth of 7.8 percent.

In 2017， the Engels coefficient for Chinese residents was 29.3 percent， 34.6 percentage points lower than the 63.9 percent in 1978， reaching a stage of affluence. No matter whether measured against the standards of the World Bank， or the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics or any general international standard， Chinas middle-income group is growing.

Second， peoples living conditions and employment have improved. Although the economy faces downward pressure， employment still remains stable. From 2013 to 2017， 13 million job opportunities were created every year， and the surveyed urban unemployment rate was controlled to around 5 percent. In 2017， the number of migrant workers in China totaled 286 million. All this laid a solid foundation for harmony and stability of the whole society.

The most signifi cant change in peoples lives has been housing. From 1978 to 2017， the per-capita living space of Chinese residents increased from 3.6 square meters to 40 square meters. In 1984， 88.2 percent of urban residents lived in state-owned housing， and only 9.4 percent lived in selfowned houses. In 2017， more than 90 percent of Chinese residents lived in selfowned houses， the highest in the world.

Third， great achievements have been made in poverty reduction. In the 40 years of reform and opening up， China has lifted 740 million people out of poverty. The poverty line in Chinas rural areas is higher than the international extreme poverty line of $1.9 a day in terms of purchasing power parity. China has set the target of eliminating all extreme poverty in rural areas under the current standard by 2020.

Fourth， education has developed rapidly， and the standard of the labor force improved remarkably. From 1978 to 2017， the number of universities and colleges in China increased from 598 to 2，914， and college and university enrollment rose from 867，000 to 37.79 million. The gross enrollment rate for higher education increased from 1.55 percent to 45.7 percent.

In 2017， the compulsory education years of Chinas labor force stood at 9.02 years. Among the newly added labor force， the fi gure is 13.5 years.

Fifth， a grand social safety net has been established and peoples health has generally improved. The life expectancy of the Chinese increased from 67.8 years in 1981 to 76.7 years in 2017， higher than the world average. The social safety net has realized universal coverage， reaching farmers for the fi rst time in the history of China.

By the end of 2017， Chinas basic en- dowment insurance covered 915 million people， basic medical insurance 1.18 billion people， and unemployment insurance 188 million people. Employment injury insurance covered 227 million people and maternity insurance 192 million people. The number of social security recipients reached 1.09 billion.

Beyond the above-mentioned progress， looking into the future， five trends stand out.

First， Chinas social transformation will bring huge potential and space for development. Chinas urbanization rate is now under 60 percent. As it reaches 75-80 percent， it will bring great space and potential for growth. Moving a huge number of rural laborers to the cities will greatly improve the efficiency of economic and social development.

Second， an improved labor force will bring the second demographic dividend. To maintain its comparative advantage， China must strengthen training to improve the education of the labor force. There is still great space for improving the education level， which will be the new and biggest demographic dividend in the future.

Third， an aging population is both a challenge and an opportunity. To change the challenge into opportunity， China should raise the retirement age， and develop elderly care， tourism and leisure industries to boost new consumption.

Fourth， it still has a long way to go to establish an olive-shaped social structure that is more stable than the pyramid structure and boost mass consumption. At present， the size of the middle-income group in China is still smaller than those in other countries， and international experience indicates that narrowing the gap will take a long time.

Fifth， after 2020 a new poverty-reduction campaign should be started with a new standard. The rural poverty line could be readjusted to the annual per-capita disposable income of 4，000 yuan （$581）.