China Makes Major Social Security Change
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
China's top court is set to ban an informal working arrangement by which employers can skip mandatory social security payments.
Why It Matters
Officials have pledged to strengthen China's weak social safety net as part of broader efforts to rebuild confidence amid a years-long property-sector crisis, in a nation where an estimated 70 percent of household wealth is tied up in real estate.
If widely enforced, the change will rattle China's vast informal economy, and in the short term likely cost many low-income employees work hours or their jobs, and eat into the already thin margins of farmers.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
What To Know
In an August 1 judicial interpretation, China's Supreme People's Court announced that employment contracts that exclude social-insurance contributions are invalid.
The judges said the decision responds to public concern and hailed it as a step to promote stable employment and support high-quality development.
"We've found a few companies not contributing to social insurance in order to reduce labor costs, with some workers requesting employers to provide the social insurance contributions directly to them as subsidies in order to receive higher wages," said Zhang Yan, a judge in the court's First Civil Division.
She said courts should support employees seeking to terminate informal work contracts or to seek compensation over an employer's failure to make social-security contributions.
Wu Jingli, the division's deputy chief judge, stressed the importance of the social safety net.
"Paying social insurance fees in the long term can help employees manage income disruptions during risks like old age, illness, work-related injuries, childbirth and unemployment, securing their basic living needs," Wu said.
Some netizens on Chinese social media expressed fears they'll be laid off. Others pointed to structural inequalities between urban and rural areas in terms of earning potential and access to quality public services.
An elderly woman walks with the aid of a cane, accompanied by another woman in Chongqing, China, on May 26, 2025.
An elderly woman walks with the aid of a cane, accompanied by another woman in Chongqing, China, on May 26, 2025.What People Are Saying
One person wrote in a post on the microblogging platform Weibo: "Now, if contributions are cut off, pensions stop. And if the company goes bankrupt and I can't find a job for a while...it's one pit after another I'm forced to jump into."
Another Weibo user wrote: "In the short term, paying social-insurance contributions does bring pressure and pain to many businesses, but a short pain is better than a long one."
Another Weibo user wrote: "Good social services also tend to be concentrated in city center areas...Since people in cite enjoy these conveniences, they really should help improve the rural social-security system."
What Happens Next
The ban takes effect September 1.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Intel shares skyrocket following report Trump admin is mulling taking stake in chipmaker
The Trump administration is in talks with Intel to have the US government potentially take a stake in the chipmaker, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the plan. Shares of the company rose nearly 7%. The plan stems from a meeting this week between President Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the report added. The plan stems from a meeting this week between President Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the report added. Getty Images This comes after Trump publicly demanded the resignation of Tan over his past investments in Chinese tech companies, some linked to the Chinese military. The White House and Intel did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Trump's Approval Rating With Medicaid Recipients Takes a Nosedive: Poll
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's approval rating with Medicaid recipients has dropped a staggering 16 points since January, a new poll from Morning Consult shows on Thursday. Why It Matters The shift occurred as Republicans advanced major cuts to Medicaid in the party's signature budget legislation, a bill the president dubbed "the big, beautiful bill." Medicaid covers more than 71 million low-income Americans and serves as a cornerstone of health coverage for vulnerable populations. Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached an agreement that provided U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to certain Medicaid user data, a move that raised privacy and access-to-care concerns among advocates and some officials. Critics warned that such measures could deter eligible patients from seeking care. What To Know In the poll, the president's approval rating with the group is 36 percent, a drop from 52 percent during the president's first week in office. Trump's disapproval mark is 55 percent, soaring from 34 percent during the same time frame. Morning Consult conducts the surveys weekly among 14,695 U.S. adults, including 3,134 Medicaid recipients. The poll has a margin of error of 1 percent to 2 percent. The survey noted that "The biggest political question facing the Republican Party ahead of the next couple of election cycles is whether it can consolidate gains made in recent years among lower-income Americans. In the wake of those Medicaid cuts, that sure looks like a very steep climb," Cameron Easley, Morning Consult's head of U.S. Political Analysis, wrote. The president's overall approval rating with U.S. adults in the poll is 44 percent compared to a 50 percent disapproval rating. President Donald Trump speaks at the Kennedy Center on August 13 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by) President Donald Trump speaks at the Kennedy Center on August 13 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by) What People Are Saying Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek via text message on Thursday: "The notable decline in his approval rating among Medicaid recipients, signals growing discontent within a key demographic reliant on public health programs. This drop, sharper than among the general public, appears tied to Republican led efforts to cut Medicaid funding through legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which accelerated the slide when proposed in March and enacted in July. "It's particularly concerning for the GOP, as it erodes support even among Republican and independent Medicaid users, potentially complicating efforts to maintain gains with working class voters ahead of midterms. If unaddressed, this could highlight vulnerabilities in Trump's coalition where policy impacts clash with economic promises." Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont posted to X on Wednesday: "Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is a direct attack on the 1 in 3 Americans with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for their health care. It cannot stand. We must work together until every American with a disability has the freedom, opportunity and respect that they deserve." Trump wrote on Truth Social in May: "Republicans MUST UNITE behind, 'THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!' Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need. The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn't help our Voters. We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" What Happens Next The president's approval rating will continue to be tracked by numerous outlets and pollsters leading up to the 2026 midterm election season.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Green Card Lawsuit Against Trump Admin Heads To New Judge As Visas Run Out
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new judge is slated to hear arguments Friday regarding a lawsuit involving foreign nationals and a travel ban that was imposed earlier this year on green card holders, as the number of allotted visas continues to diminish. Newsweek reached out to the State Department via email for comment. Why It Matters President Donald Trump in June announced a travel ban restricting individuals from the following 12 nations: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. He said the move, part of his administration's broader hardline immigration policies, was done to "protect the nation from foreign terrorist and other national security and public safety threats" citing an attack in Boulder, Colorado by an Egyptian national that targeted a group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Plaintiffs challenged the travel ban under a nondelegation theory, as well as challenging the State Department's policy of treating an entry ban as a visa issuance ban—which lawyers for the plaintiffs claim is beyond the scope of the president's authority. People participate in a protest on the first day of the Trump administration's full ban against travel from 12 countries and a partial ban on seven others, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on June... People participate in a protest on the first day of the Trump administration's full ban against travel from 12 countries and a partial ban on seven others, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on June 9, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. MoreWhat To Know The legal case Thein v. Trump on the Trump administration's travel ban affecting hundreds of foreign nationals, diversity visa applicants from multiple countries was recently reassigned from Judge Tonya Chutkan to Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who set a hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction for this Friday at 11 a.m. ET. Lawyers for the plaintiffs expressed concern in early August that Chutkan, who already is overseeing two other lawsuits and has a past history with Trump due to her previously overseeing the president's federal election interference case, would be removed from their case. Curtis Morrison, a lawyer on behalf of the plaintiffs in Thein v. Trump, subsequently filed motions for both expedited discovery and preliminary injunction. As of Wednesday already 38,260 of the 50,000 allotted visas have been used, Morrison said, including 37,675 by the State Department and 591 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). He told Newsweek via phone on Thursday that he and his fellow counsel filed a motion to compel the administrative record related to Trump's travel ban and its implementation, which he said is important "because basically we'll be able to look behind the curtain and get a better view of the Trump administration's true rationales behind issuing the ban." If successful, it could also lead to more background on the guidance on the ban's implementation—which should include a cable sent by U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio to all U.S. embassies around June 4-9, according to Morrison. "And what that means is all the records that show how the government made its decisions," Morrison told Newsweek via phone on Thursday prior to flying to Washington D.C. for the proceedings. "So, there's a couple of decisions here: there's the travel ban itself, and there's the implementation of the travel ban. "And the implementation of the travel ban is going to have a cable from Secretary Rubio to all the embassies, 'Hey, this is how we implement the ban.' So, it'll be very interesting to see that cable, to the State Department decided to interpret the ban." Morrison added that he was "shocked" the federal government did not object to his motion on Wednesday for administrative record, as he was already waiting for them to file an appeal. On Tuesday, the government did filed its opposition to Morrison's motion for preliminary injunction—which included using the word "alien" 94 times in their brief. He said the government even proposed requesting immigrant plaintiffs to pay a bond if the judge issues a preliminary injunction, which he called "just nuts." "If that happens, we'll probably need to a GoFundMe or something," he said. What People Are Saying President Donald Trump in his June 4 proclamation: "As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people. I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks. Nationals of some countries also pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety." The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on May 5: "Green cards and visas will be revoked if an alien breaks the law." It said in a later post: "USCIS works alongside our @DHSgov and @StateDept partners each day to keep America, and Americans, safe. From designating foreign terrorist organizations to imposing sanctions, we're taking action to protect and secure our nation for your families, friends, and future." Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, previously told Newsweek: "The Trump administration's decision to turn its back on our Afghan allies who risked their lives and the lives of their families to support American troops in Afghanistan is unconscionable." What Happens Next Friday will be important in the future of the green card holders awaiting their fates, Morrison said, with the judge potentially issuing an order that could have broader ramifications for all foreign nationals in the months ahead.
