On Dec. 14, villagers clapped and cheered as a drone loaded with medicine landed in a “cliff village” in Sichuan Province, where transportation is inconvenient. The project of drone mobile clinics, launched by JD.com and China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, aims to improve villagers’ access to health services.

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China has made significant progress in charity since 2016. Local officials have released increasingly innovative charity policies and the number of social organizations has grown substantially, marking a new era of Chinese charity, according to a recent index report.

The “Chinese Charity Progress Index 2017” was jointly released by the China Philanthropy Research Institute at Beijing Normal University and the Beijing-based JianKun Charitable Foundation on Dec. 19. The report evaluates the innovation and implementation of charity policies at the municipal and district level in 21 provinces.

As a way to realize social redistribution, charity has played a prominent role in solving the principal contradiction facing Chinese society. In recent years, Chinese charity has embraced one milestone after another.

In 2016, laws and regulations like the Charity Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Non-Governmental Organizations within the Territory of China were promulgated.

In March 2017, the landmark Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China was voted on by the Fifth Session of the 12th National People’s Congress and took effect on Oct. 1. Social organizations, one of the channels for deliberative democracy, were incorporated into the report to the 19th CPC National Congress. On Dec. 1, the Regulation on Volunteer Services was put into force.

The series of significant laws and policies have helped to realize the economic and social value of charity and provide broader room for the development of philanthropy. Scholars said that the three major laws have ushered in a new era of Chinese charity, signaling that the governance of charity by law has basically taken shape.

As the internet economy thrives, the internet has also encouraged public participation in donation and volunteer services. According to the index report, the funds raised on the “September 9 Charity Day,” a campaign launched by the internet giant Tencent, hit record highs, topping 1.3 billion yuan in 2017.

Internet giants like Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com have also stepped up charity efforts, applying high technologies like artificial intelligence, face recognition and virtual reality to such fields as education, environmental protection and poverty reduction.

According to the index report, the “Internet Plus Tertiary Industry” has come into being. The internet has not only given rise to and invigorated tens of thousands of social organizations but also lowered the threshold of charity, making it possible for everyone to take part.

Meanwhile, growing numbers of entrepreneurs have devoted themselves to public welfare, bringing their business ideas and skills to the charity sector. The Ai You Foundation, for instance, had provided funding for 100 institutions by the end of 2016. Thirty of them have grossed 167 million yuan annually, with an average growth rate of 21.2 percent.

In 2016, Ant Financial Services Group and the International Finance Corporation made equity investments of 157 million yuan in CFPA Microfinance, a traditional rural micro-credit institution certified as a gold social enterprise. Cross-industry integration, venture philanthropy and impact investment have become “hot terms.”

Scholars said that social impact investment has gradually become the mainstream of the market, heralding an era in which social value outweighs economic benefits. This represents the new trend of future charity, they said.