China supports flexible, informal employment through better social security

The rapid development of new technologies created broader job opportunities for gig workers who make a living from various temporary jobs, but lack the security of traditional employment, prompting the governments and market players to take measures to better protect the rights and interests of flexibly employed individuals.

China has a vast population of flexibly employed individuals, and the rapid development of the internet industry has sparked changes in the job market, making it easier for young people to find such jobs, but the market remains largely unregulated.

Last September, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council unveiled a set of guidelines to promote high-quality and sufficient employment by implementing the employment-first strategy.

The country will improve the social security system for flexible employees, migrant workers and people in new forms of employment, and lifted household registration restrictions for social insurance enrollment in employment locations.

China will promote the coverage of unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance, and housing provident funds to professional workers.

In China, social insurance typically includes old-age pensions, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational injury insurance and maternity insurance.

Meanwhile, China is expanding the pilot program of occupational injury protection for people in new employment forms. Over the past two years since the pilot program began, more than 10 million people, including couriers, takeout delivery workers, and online car-hailing drivers, have signed up for it. China will increase the number of pilot provinces from seven to 17, and gradually implemented it nationwide.

Employment injury scheme provides protection to an employee against accident or an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of his employment.

Major food delivery platforms in China announced last month that they will offer social insurance benefits for their delivery riders, which both riders and experts believe will better protect the rights of people working in the industry.

JD, a Chinese e-commerce platform that launched its food delivery service in February, announced it would gradually provide social insurance plus a housing provident fund for full-time delivery riders, and accident and health insurance for part-time riders starting from March 1.

Before expanding into food delivery, JD had already been providing social insurance for its express deliverymen.

On the same day, Meituan, another prominent on-demand service platform, made a similar announcement, revealing plans to provide social insurance for its full-time and stable delivery riders starting in the second quarter of 2025.

"As policy support builds up, the calls for standardized management in these platform companies will get louder and louder, prompting them to take measures. The companies will get fully-fledged," said Zhou Wenxia, professor of the School of Labor and Human Resources under Renmin University of China.

China supports flexible, informal employment through better social security

Tiangong Ultra, an upgraded version of the China-made "Tiangong" humanoid robot, is currently undergoing tests in preparation for a half-marathon next month in Beijing.

The race, set for April 13 in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in the capital city's southeast, will feature both robotic and human athletes competing on the same route but on separate tracks to ensure safety for all participants.

The competition is open to global robot companies, research institutes, robot clubs and universities. So far, 23 organizations have signed up for the competition.

Developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, Tiangong Ultra has a bigger size, longer legs, and a stronger hip compared to its old version. In addition, unlike Tiangong, which has two iron sheets as feet, Tiangong Ultra wears a pair of "shoes" to minimize impact on its feet and ankle joints from running, according to engineers at the center.

"Aside from upgrades to Tiangong's body and structure, we have also greatly improved its motion algorithm, strengthening its capabilities for gait planning, body coordination, and motion control," said Wei Jiaxing, director of branding and public relations at the center.

In a race between Tiangong and Tiangong Ultra, the upgraded version demonstrated larger strides, a more stable running form, and a significantly higher speed.

"Its highest speed can reach 12 kilometers per hour. Considering the stability and endurance of the Tiangong robot when running outdoors, we may slightly reduce the speed. But we are still very confident that it can complete the half marathon," Wei said.

Bolstered by strong capital investment, China' robotics industry is growing rapidly, with versatile applications becoming increasingly prominent across a wide range of fields, including industrial automation, healthcare and service industries.

According to a report on the humanoid robot industry released at the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, China's humanoid robot market scale was approximately 2.76 billion yuan (about 381.28 million U.S. dollars) last year.

By 2029, it is expected to expand to 75 billion yuan (about 10.36 billion U.S. dollars), which would account for 32.7 percent of the global market.

Humanoid robot set to run Beijing half-marathon