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China's social work education dates back to the 1920s, but the profession disappeared for 36 years after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Not until the late 1980s was social work education in China revived. At the turn of the new century, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council supported the urgent need for social work professionals to solve serious social problems to build what the government called a harmonious society. Since then, China's social work education has gone through rapid development. We examine the characteristics of China's social work education development since the economic reform of 1978 and present the challenges, opportunities, and future prospects for the profession.

This article reviews China's social security system and its recent reforms from a macro perspective. The traditional "broad" social security model should be replaced by a new "narrow" social security model. If social security programs, eligibility, and responsibilities are adjusted according to the narrow model, urban and rural areas can be integrated into a single social security system. Reforms of the traditional system could thus redress the long practice of preferential policies for the cities and strive to reduce the disparities between urban and rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]