WEDDING SHOW: Exhibition staff arrange a booth before the three-day 2013 Beijing Wedding Expo kicked off on March 1 (ZHAO BING)

Urbanization Pace

China is likely to roll out a blueprint this year to guide the country's urbanization process to advance in an "orderly and healthy" way, a senior economic official said on March 6.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner, is coordinating related authorities to compile the blueprint, which is likely to be issued in the first half of this year, said Zhang Ping, head of the NDRC, at a press conference.

Zhang said that China needs better planning to improve the quality of urbanization, particularly to address problems such as inadequate services provided to new urban dwellers from rural areas, backward infrastructure and imbalanced distribution of resources between megacities and small and medium-sized cities.

China's urbanization rate rose by 1.3 percentage points to 52.57 percent last year, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Social Security Fund

Central budget expenditures on China's social insurance and job security totaled 575.37 billion yuan ($92.46 billion) in 2012, the Ministry of Finance said on March 6.

The Central Government also spent 204.82 billion yuan ($32.91 billion) on medical treatment and public health initiatives, according to an online statement.

Some 45.4 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) was allocated to local employment subsidies and for carrying out a job-creation program for hi-tech talent.

Expenditures on basic endowment insurance for state-owned enterprise retirees, a major component of China's social insurance funds, hit 217 billion yuan ($34.87 billion) last year, the ministry said.

Another 65.4 billion yuan ($10.51 billion) of the central budget went toward subsidies for other rural and urban residents covered under the country's social old-age insurance system.

At least 70 percent of medical expenses were reimbursed for hospitalized residents that subscribed to various types of medical insurance, the ministry added.

Sex Ratio

China registered an at-birth sex ratio of 117.7 boys for every 100 girls in 2012, marking the fourth year of decline, the People's Daily reported on March 5, citing figures from the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

A normal ratio should stand at 103 to 107 boys for every 100 girls, considering the discrepancy in mortality rates between the two genders, according to the People's Daily.

The decline is a reflection of China's successful efforts to curb an imbalance in the ratio, which reached a record high of 121.2 boys for every 100 girls in 2004, the commission said, adding that the imbalance remains problematic.

The figures for the previous three years were 119.45 in 2009, 117.94 in 2010 and 117.78 in 2011.

Private Orphanages

Currently 878 non-government-affiliated agencies are housing 9,394 orphans and abandoned babies across China, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on March 1.

Of the total, 583 are run by religious groups, with the rest operated by individuals or other organizations, according to statistics released by the ministry. Figures released earlier this year by the ministry indicate that China is home to about 615,000 orphans. Only 109,000 of these orphans live in government-funded agencies, with the remainder in the custody of relatives or private orphanages.

The ministry is helping to include the orphans and abandoned babies in the country's institutional protection mechanisms and improve the facilities of private orphanages, Zhan said. It also sends professional nursing personnel to work in private orphanages and foster homes to help train staff.