Pension Raise

China has raised the minimum standard of basic pensions for rural residents and unemployed urbanites, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The standard was increased to 88 yuan ($13.87) per person per month from the previous 70 yuan ($11.03), effective on January 1, the ministry said in a statement.

The adjustment was made in line with income growth, inflation and changes in basic pensions for urban employees, it added.

The Central Government will fully fund the adjustment in the midwestern regions and cover half of the expenditure for the raise in the more developed eastern areas.

By the end of 2017, 513 million rural residents and unemployed urban dwellers were covered by the basic pension scheme, with a monthly average payment per person of 125 yuan ($19.7), according to the statement.

China had separate pension schemes for rural residents and unemployed urban dwellers until 2014 when the two schemes were unified as part of efforts to bridge the ruralurban wealth gap.

Emissions from vehicles and construction machinery are now the top sources of PM2.5 (particulate matter of diameter less than 2.5 micrometers), contributing up to 45 percent of the total pollutants in the capital, according to the study by the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.

With 5.64 million privatelyowned cars by the end of 2017, Beijing has the highest rate of car ownership in the country.

The study also showed that Beijing’s surrounding regions contributed to more than 50 percent of the pollutants on heavily polluted days when the air quality index exceeded 200 in the city.

Air samples were gathered daily in 11 locations around Beijing and more than 300,000 sets of data were analyzed, said Liu Baoxian, Deputy Director of the Beijing