National Development and Reform Commission Social Department: Standardize and orderly promote the application of assisted reproductive technology, fully implement the maternity leave system

The Director of the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, Liu Dechun, said at a press briefing organized by the State Council Information Office that the “15th Five-Year Plan” Outline (Draft) is specifically laid out in two chapters to set out measures for actively addressing population aging and building a birth-friendly society.

In terms of building a birth-friendly society:
First, strengthen maternity and childbirth support; expand the coverage of the maternity insurance system; reasonably improve the level of medical expense protection for prenatal checkups; standardize and orderly advance the application of assisted reproductive technologies; fully implement the maternity leave system; and provide better basic support for families with children.
Second, improve childcare services; support the development of kindergarten-based integrated nursery and preschool services; strengthen the supply of public childcare spaces; support social forces in providing diversified inclusive childcare services; achieve full coverage of comprehensive childcare service centers at the city-prefecture level; and raise the enrollment rate of infants and young children under 3 by 6 percentage points, making inclusive childcare services more convenient and more accessible.
Third, reduce the burden of raising children; give full play to policy roles such as special additional deductions under the Individual Income Tax; explore establishing a dynamic adjustment mechanism for childcare subsidies; improve family development policies; and increase support for families with multiple children in areas such as schooling and housing, effectively lowering the costs of childbirth, child-rearing, and education for families. (Cailian Press)