The article studies the relation between social welfare development and economic development in China and Hong Kong. It is found that social welfare in these two economies makes important contributions to economic development, and that its expansion is associated positively with economic growth. However, despite this, it is still difficult to judge whether or not social welfare in Hong Kong and China can be defined as well-developed. Its social status, judged by the independent value ascribed to it, is apparently less than would be inferred from the size of the material resources actually allocated to it in both economies. It is essentially subordinate to economic considerations and has no separate integrity.
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