BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in Beijing on Thursday.Noting that Namibia is an important partner of China in Africa, Li said China is willing to work with Namibia to carry forward traditional friendship, firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation, in order to advance the modernization of the two countries.Li called on both sides to enhance alignment of development strategies, expand the scale of bilateral trade, and strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction, mining, oil and gas, new energy, and other fields. China stands ready to import more high-quality agricultural and fishery products from Namibia, support capable Chinese enterprises to invest in Namibia, and encourage Namibia to fully leverage China's zero-tariff and other policies to expand exports to China, Li added.The two sides should deepen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as tourism, health, education, science and technology, and youth, said Li, adding that China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Namibia under mechanisms such as the United Nations and work with all parties to promote true multilateralism, implement the four major global initiatives proposed by China, advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is on a state visit to China, said the Namibian side always remembers the valuable assistance China provided to Namibia in its pursuit of national independence and development.Noting that the current momentum in bilateral ties is strong, she said Namibia firmly adheres to the one-China principle and looks forward to working with China to achieve more in the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Namibia and China and to better benefit the two peoples.Namibia attaches great importance to China's important role and influen...

BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China's basic medical insurance program saw steady growth in enrollment in 2026, with more than four million additional people signing up compared with the same period last year, an official said on Thursday.The participation rate remained stable at 95 percent, Zhang Chenguang, an official at the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA), told a news conference.The rise has been driven by a series of measures to expand coverage, including efforts to encourage China's largest cities to lift household registration restrictions on flexible workers seeking to enroll in basic medical insurance where they live or work.Authorities have also introduced cross-provincial sharing of individual basic medical insurance accounts, allowing spouses, children, parents and other close relatives to use one another's account balances.China has also continued to expand its healthcare safety net. In March, the government issued new rules on the long-term care insurance scheme. Under the scheme, insured people who are unable to carry out normal daily activities are entitled to regular personal care and nursing services, with eligible care costs reimbursed.The long-term care insurance scheme now covers 320 million people, while more than 50,000 certified long-term care workers have been trained, Liu Juan, another official at the NHSA, said at the news conference.Regarding maternity insurance, 20 provincial-level regions have introduced policies encouraging flexible workers, migrant workers, and people in new forms of employment to enroll in maternity insurance alongside employee medical insurance, according to the press conference.Meanwhile, 28 provincial-level regions have moved to eliminate out-of-pocket payments for inpatient childbirth. In 2025, maternity insurance benefits were paid out 4.81 million times, with insured women receiving an average maternity allowance of nearly 30,000 yuan (about 4,400 U.S. dollars), Liu added.