China to create more friendly environment for childbearing with better childcare services

BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will take further steps to support childbearing, including making childcare more accessible and affordable, a senior health official announced Monday, as the country seeks to ease costs of raising children and boost its birth rate.

Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, told a media conference that continuous efforts will be made to promote the integrated development of services at kindergartens and nursery centers and to support communities and employers in setting up childcare facilities.

The aim is to ensure that families can access childcare services close to their homes or workplaces and at relatively affordable prices, Lei said.

The commission will work to raise coverage of childcare services among young children to effectively reduce families' costs of having, raising and educating children, the official said.

The country will also work to improve access to pediatric care at grassroots medical institutions, according to Lei.

By the end of this year, 1,000 more community-level medical and health institutions will be capable of offering pediatric care compared with last year, Lei said, adding that by that time, more than 95 percent of the country's township-level clinics and community health service centers are expected to have the capacity to provide relevant services.

Over 3,000 pediatricians have been sent from higher-level hospitals to grassroots medical institutions to strengthen pediatric services at the community level, Lei said.

China has developed a full-cycle maternity support system covering pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and childbirth, and child-rearing, with measures that include maternity allowances, childcare subsidies, medical insurance reimbursement and affordable childcare services to ease the financial burden on families with children.

The country introduced a nationwide childcare subsidy program in 2025, offering an annual tax-free subsidy of 3,600 yuan (about 530 U.S. dollars) for each child under the age of three. It also began waiving childcare and education fees for the final year of kindergarten in the 2025 autumn semester.

As of August, more than 25 million infants and toddlers have received childcare subsidies for 2026, and about 24 million children enrolled in kindergartens have benefited from the fee-waiving policy.

Also, 260 million people are currently covered by maternity insurance, and many regions are expanding coverage to allow flexible workers to enroll in maternity insurance alongside employee medical insurance.

These policies are among China's broader efforts to build a birth-friendly society amid declining birth rates and an aging population.

Building a "birth-friendly society" has become a key focus of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. The outline sets out measures, including incentives to encourage births and efforts to reduce the costs of childbirth, childcare and education.

It says the goal is to stabilize the number of newborns and support long-term balanced population development.