China to improve people's livelihood

China will beef up efforts to improve people's living standards and promote social development this year, Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday at the National People's Congress annual session.[Special coverage]

The number of college graduates will reach 7.49 million this year, and top priority will be given to employment and creation of jobs, Li said.

The government will work to help people, who have lost their jobs due to structural adjustments or measures to address overcapacity, find new jobs, he said.

The basic pension benefits for enterprise retirees will be increased by 10 percent, Li said, adding that the monthly basic pension benefits for rural and non-working urban residents will be uniformly raised from 55 yuan (9 U.S. dollars) to 70 yuan per person, he said.

The government will also improve basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents, and increase the annual government subsidy for this insurance from 320 yuan to 380 yuan per person, Li said.