Pregnant women and their partners at a childbirth class. Photos: CFP and IC

Chinese authorities will promote the development of inclusive childcare services and create a friendly social atmosphere for childbearing, with more efforts to be conducted to boost the healthy development of childcare services such as implementing preferential tax measures, an official from China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

The NHC, along with relevant departments, has been actively working to improve support measures for childbearing, including economic, service, time support, and cultural guidance considerations.

The authorities will establish a sound leadership coordination mechanism, tracking and analyzing population trends, and enhancing supervision and scheduling. Additionally, further efforts will be made to expand inclusive childcare services and increase childcare facilities, to promote the healthy development of childcare services, said Yang Jinrui, an official from the NHC, at the press briefing.

Furthermore, the authorities will share successful experiences and practices related to childbearing support policy systems from various regions across the country, advocating for positive attitudes toward marriage, childbearing, and family, promoting traditional Chinese culture, setting mainstream directions, and creating a friendly social atmosphere for childbearing, said Yang.

The country now has nearly 100,000 nurseries for children, which can take in about 4.8 million children, according to Yang.

The authorities will implement preferential tax measures for community childcare services, including putting childcare services for children under the age of 3 into the special additional deductions for individual income tax, according to the official.  

The health authorities will also promote the inclusion of the China childcare services law in the legislative plan for the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), said the official.

As of 2023, the infant mortality rate in China has dropped to 4.5 per thousand, while the mortality rate of children under five has dropped to 6.2 per thousand. The major health indicators for Chinese residents rank among the top in middle- to high-income countries, Mi Feng, spokesperson for the NHC, said at the press briefing.

By the end of 2023, more than 18,000 medical alliances of various forms had been established nationwide, according to the health authorities.

The health authorities have been actively promoting the expansion and balanced distribution of high-quality medical resources as well. The first four batches of 76 national regional medical centers have implemented over 6,200 new medical technologies. The average rate of patients being transferred to other hospitals has decreased by about 30 percent compared to before the construction, according to the authorities.

Global Times