Research On Social Insurance System In Contemporary China

Social insurance system is the core of the social security system inmodern countries with a market economy, as is also a majorlivelihood issue the ruling party concerned. The establishment andperfection of contemporary Chinese social insurance system hasexperienced a long historical process. After the founding of NewChina, systems such as enterprise employees labor insurance and stateorgans workers retirement, free medical service have initially formed,marked by the promulgation and implementation of Labor InsuranceRegulation. Till the eve of “Cultural Revolution”, the social insurancesystem covering all types of enterprises workers and staff of stategovernment in the city has been formed preliminary. During the“Cultural Revolution”, social insurance lost its function of socialco-ordination, which completely transformed into “enterpriseinsurance”.After1978, the state appropriately raised the treatmentlevel of retirees, but distinction was still made between retired cadresand workers, which caused the later double-track endowmentinsurance system. In the transitional process from planned economysystem to market economy system, unemployment insurance wasofficially been included into social insurance. Since the1980s, socialinsurance has started to enter into China rural areas, and a prevalentsocial insurance system guaranteed by government finance,combining society as a whole and individual account together, hasbeen set up formally.In the60years since the founding of New China, the evolution ofcontemporary Chinese social insurance system presents the followingbasic characteristics: From the coverage aspect, social insurance system was first carried out in industrial enterprise employees, andsoon extended into national office working personnel. From theregions of implementation, social insurance system started from thecities, and in the1980s, it began to extend to rural areas. From thespecific content, social insurance began with the components ofpension, ill injury and maternity, and then increased into pension,medical treatment, industrial injury, unemployment, and maternity,five in one, with each component expanding its content constantly.From the aspect of the financing method, the way to raise fundchanges from the state arrangement to a variety of social pooling.From the social function aspect, the social function of social insurancesystem switched from political mobilization to rights protection.In the gradual perfection and maturity process of contemporaryChinese social insurance system, along with the transformation from atraditional society to a modern one, the CPC gradually completed itschanging from revolutionary party to ruling party, the Chinesegovernment from ruler to server, the Chinese people from rulingtarget to social main body. In a word, the transformation of socialinsurance system is a historical epitome of the changes ofcontemporary China and an important witness of the changing time.This paper, based on the archives, combining macroscopic narrativeand microscopic research together, conducts a multi-angle researchabout the social insurance system since the funding of New China. Itdemonstrates the historical background of social insurance revolution,and explores the reasons behind the change of social insurance system.Then according to the relevant regional and industrial specific cases,this paper analyzes the interaction and competition between thecentral and local governments, unit and the public. At last, this paper reveals the influences of the transformation course and everysignificant change of social insurance system on people’s life, whichprovides references for the perfection and development of China’ssocial insurance system in the new period.