China is progressively implementing a national social insurance coverage registration programme to speed up full social insurance coverage, and to put in place a more equitable and sustainable social security system.

The registration programme is a dedicated initiative to promote full and sustained coverage of working people and of urban and rural residents.

The programme was piloted in certain areas in 2014. Efforts will be made to improve the programme in 2015 and the pilot areas will be extended to 50% of the country. It will then be scaled up across the whole country from 2016 to 2017 to ensure the targets can be met. A stock-taking and evaluation will be conducted in the second half of 2017.

By the end of 2014, basic old-age, basic medical care in urban areas, unemployment, work injury and maternity insurance coverage reached 840 million, 600 million, 170 million, 210 million and 170 million respectively. 712 million social security cards were issued. China has put in place by and large the biggest social insurance system in the world.