ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the characteristics of the Chinese social welfare system prior to 1978, before focusing on the special features of China's wide-ranging endeavours at social welfare reform. It focuses on some of the salient issues that will have to be resolved in any further reform processes. However, despite the impressive economic growth rate China has experienced over the past 20 years, since adopting its open policy, any further economic reform must surely touch on the essence of China's economic system, especially the state-owned enterprise sector. For it will be impossible to gain economic efficiency without reforming state enterprise pensions, medical care and unemployment insurance systems. To effectuate the equity goal, current insurance-based reform - if meant to be comprehensive - ought certainly to be expanding its scope to incorporate the social relief and social welfare services. Some of other issues are technical in nature, others are more ideological and structural.
