China is striving to bring most provinces and regions into a poverty relief network before the end of the year, a senior leader said yesterday.

　　According to Minister of Civil Affairs Li Xueju, at the end of last year, the number of rural residents lacking adequate food and clothing stood at 26.1 million.

　　In addition, 49.8 million with comparatively low incomes in rural areas could easily fall into poverty in the face of sudden difficulties such as natural disasters or illness.

　　In urban areas, around 22 million residents lived on minimum allowances provided by governments, Li said at a meeting in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.

　　Under the international standard of an average income of US$1 per day, 90 million Chinese still live below the poverty line, earning an average per-capita annual income of less than 924 yuan (US$112), Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said earlier this year.

　　But the good news is that the relief network designed to aid those in need was in place in 14 provinces and regions at the end of last year.

　　The network consists of an allowance system for laid-off workers, a disaster relief system, assistance for impoverished rural residents and other aid in terms of health care, education, housing and legal affairs.

　　Also yesterday, State Councillor Zhou Yongkang warned that the income gap between the haves and have-nots is widening. "A social security system is not fully in place, and the wealth discrepancy adds unstable factors to our society," Zhou said yesterday at a Standing Committee session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

　　Minister Li said that in the first half of this year, the Chinese Government dispensed more than 1.8 billion yuan (US$219 million) for disaster relief and assisted 45.5 million disaster-stricken residents.

　　Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs Jia Zhibang ordered county-level civil affairs departments yesterday to report disasters to the ministry within 2 hours of any incident involving 10 or more deaths.