The base of social assistance is: the minimum standard of subsistence allowance. The minimum living guarantee for rural residents is for families whose per capita net income is lower than the local minimum living guarantee standard; The system of giving assistance according to the local minimum living standard is a social assistance system gradually developed and improved on the basis of the regular and quantitative living assistance system for the rural poor.

This system first appeared in the 1990s. At first, it was only a small-scale exploration and experiment in some economically developed areas. After the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the idea of "exploring the establishment of a rural minimum living security system in areas where conditions permit", especially after the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward the idea of building a new socialist countryside, the rural minimum living security system was rapidly popularized throughout the country.