China offers one-time cash allowance for those in extreme poverty

China’s government announced it will offer a one-time cash allowance to those in extreme poverty, a day after its central bank rolled out a slate of stimulus measures aimed at shoring up the economy.

The handout will be provided to “extremely poor people, orphans and other needy people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China,” China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs reported on Wednesday. That’s according to a Google translation. The subsidies will be doled out before China’s National Day on Oct. 1 to “promptly convey the Party and government’s care and concern for the needy.” The report did not specify the size of the allowance or any further details.

“Xi Jinping and the CPC are laser focused on giving a hand to low- and middle-income Chinese through his common prosperity drive … Xi is focused on building equity in poorer regions,” founder of China Market Research Group Shaun Rein told CNBC when asked about the living subsidies.  

The concept of common prosperity, initially introduced by Mao Zedong in the 1950s, was reintroduced by the Chinese government in 2021 to promote moderate wealth for everyone.

As of last November, 40.4 million people in China were covered by subsistence allowances. The average allowance was about 779 yuan ($110.80) per person a month for those staying in urban areas, while rural subsistence was 615 yuan per person.