The foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 marked the realization of a dream strived for by millions of Chinese people over the preceding hundred years,i.e.,the dream of liberation.Since 1949,China has gone through two stages of historical development,in which it realized the dream of self-reliance and the dream of freedom from poverty,respectively.Having entered the third stage of its contemporary history,China is now striving to achieve a new dream of shared prosperity for all.Supported by statistical data,this paper argues that China has made a great leap forward in the field of social protection over the past 10-plus years.This new leap forward has quietly brought about enormous changes to the Chinese society.On one hand,it has stopped inequality from further deteriorating;on the other hand,it has created a benign environment for lessening human insecurity.