China's social insurance system covers 6 percent more Chinese annually in recent years, said Tian Chengping, the Minister of Labor and Social Security in Beijing Saturday.

China has basically formed the framework of its social security system, said Tian at the first annual meeting of the China Social Security Forum.

By 2005, China had accumulated 606.6 billion yuan (US$75.8 billion) of social insurance funds for basic pension, unemployment, employment injury, maternity and basic medical insurance, with an annual income growth of 20 percent in recent years, said Tian.

Tian said the national social security fund has added up to more than 200 billion yuan.

From 1998 to 2005, more than 24 million laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises benefited from basic living allowances, while over 19 million were reemployed, said Tian.

In that period, 160 million more retired workers were included in the basic pension insurance system, with 252.8 billion yuan of pension granted, said Tian.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2006)