BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers are advancing a draft law aimed at strengthening basic living support and building a stronger safety net for vulnerable groups.

A nurse checks a resident's blood pressure during a public awareness event on May 27, 2025, in Shushan District, Hefei, Central China's Anhui Province, as part of a social assistance awareness campaign. (Photo: VCG)

The draft law on social assistance calls for optimizing procedures based on practical needs and improving accessibility and convenience for the public.

It was submitted on Monday to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature, for its third reading.

The draft seeks to refine the financial verification mechanism for applicant households and enhance the efficiency of the eligibility assessment and approval process.

According to Shi Chunfeng, spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, the draft stresses that social assistance work should follow the principles of openness, fairness, impartiality, convenience and timeliness.

For application handling, the draft requires county-level governments to establish a "one-stop, coordinated" system, said the spokesperson at a recent press briefing.

Township governments and subdistrict offices are required to set up service windows to receive applications and promptly forward them for processing.

The draft also calls for greater use of digital technology to bring social assistance services onto mobile platforms, allowing people to apply, track applications and file complaints more easily, said Shi.

The draft also calls on governments at all levels to encourage, support and guide able-bodied social assistance recipients to achieve self-reliance and lift themselves out of hardship.

Highlighting the role of social assistance as both a safety net and an emergency support system, the draft stipulates that authorities should promptly provide assistance when recipients encounter urgent situations.

In addition to clarifying government responsibilities, the draft also includes a dedicated chapter on the participation of social forces.

The draft encourages and supports social forces to carry out voluntary assistance, and calls on charitable groups to increase their support for social assistance efforts.

It states that such efforts are entitled to relevant preferential policies.

Following earlier reviews in June last year and February this year, lawmakers sought extensive input from relevant parties and the public to revise the draft.

There is a broad consensus that China's social assistance work has been in place for many years and provides a solid foundation for the draft law, with calls to accelerate the legislative process for early enactment, said Shi.