The State Council executive meeting on June 17, 2015 decided that more residents in shanty towns will move into new homes. It was also said at the meeting that the new type of urbanization should be human-centric. In the next three years, 18 million homes in shanty towns and 10.6 million households in dilapidated buildings in rural areas will be reconstructed. Facilities such as transportation, water, gas and heating and communication will be planned at the same time.

“People’s livelihood” is the phrase most frequently mentioned in the news releases of the State Council executive meetings. “Ensuring and improving people’s livelihood is the core of the government work,” the Premier said on March 18, 2013, at the first executive meeting after he took office.

By the end of 2015, critical illness insurance should cover all the basic healthcare insurance participants and cover more than 50 percent of medical expenses, the recent executive meeting decided.

The State Council always faces people’s most urgent difficulties head on. At the meeting on July 8, it was decided to increase the national student loan to create equal opportunities for students in poverty.

“Smog is the most frequently seen word online, and is the most urgent thing affecting people’s livelihood. The government cannot ignore the problem,” Premier Li said at the meeting on Feb 12, 2014.

Besides medical care, employment and housing, the State Council executive meeting discussed a wider range of issues concerning people’s livelihood.

Talking about the high roaming charge at the meeting on May 13 this year, Premier Li urged a faster and cheaper Internet. At the meeting on June 10, Premier Li again mentioned the hot topic of a large number of domestic tourists going abroad to buy toilet lids. He then urged the promotion of cross-border e-commerce.

The State Council meetings not only decide on specific policies, it also supervise and promote the implementation of these policies.

“We should often reflect ourselves - how much did we do in a year? Our work should meet the demands of people’s demands and expectations,” the Premier said at an executive meeting on March 19, 2014.