China's per capita disposable income increased by 6.1 percent in 2023, with income in rural areas that have been lifted out of poverty growing by 8.4 percent, signalling a narrower income gap between urban and rural residents, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday in his government work report.

He read out the report at the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

According to Li, over 66 million taxpayers benefited from an increase in special additional deductions for individual income tax, which cover children's nursing expenses, children's education and elderly care expenses.

Li added that the government had redoubled efforts in the past year to renovate old urban residential compounds and develop government-subsidized housing, benefiting over 10 million households.