Childcare support highlights by national political adviser

A national political adviser has highlighted boosting supplies of affordable nursery care services, reinforcing protection of female employees of childbearing age and intensifying housing incentives for families with children as crucial measures to promote high-quality demographic development on Friday.

As China is experiencing declining birth rates, fertility supportive policies should be further strengthened and aligned with policies in the realms of social security, education, healthcare, housing and employment, said Jiao Hong, vice chairman of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Jiao, who is also former director of the National Medical Products Administration, suggested lowering the operation costs of nursery care institutions and adding more affordable nursery care slots.

She called for enhancing protection of the rights of female employees in their childbearing years concerning their employment and income. Mega cities with notably low birth rates should be encouraged to implement more supportive policies for families with children, particularly in terms of household registration availability and preferential housing policies.

She made the remarks while delivering a speech at the second plenary meeting of the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.

Jiao also suggested deepening reforms and innovations in education and healthcare to elevate the overall quality of the population, and maximizing utilization of human resources.

To cope with the rapidly aging trend, she said that it is important to boost elderly care services while increasing consumption willingness of the elderly and "developing the silver economy." National strategies in rural vitalization, urbanization and regional coordinated development should also be devised to adapt to the evolving demographic structure and quality, she added.