A child plays water at the Hongmei cultural and creative industry park in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, July 30, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

An official from China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Monday announced a slew of measures to ease Chinese family costs related to childbirth and child-rearing while strengthening primary healthcare services as part of the country's effort to boost birth rates. 

Stated at a State Council Information Office press conference centered on healthcare for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Lei Haichao, director of the NHC, said the initiative supports communities and employers in setting up child care service institutions, enabling residents to access nearby, convenient, and reasonably affordable child care services. Raising the enrollment rate for child care will effectively lower family costs related to childbirth, child-rearing, and education.

To make child-related health service more accessible, Lei said that 1,000 additional community health service centers and township health centers will offer pediatric medical services this year, building on last year's progress. 

By the end of the year, over 95 percent of township health centers and community health service centers are expected to provide pediatric services. Additionally, 3,100 pediatricians have already been dispatched to primary-level healthcare institutions, the health official said at the press conference. 

China's 15th Five-Year Plan has listed building a "birth-friendly society" as one of its priorities. The outline sets out measures including incentives to encourage births and efforts to reduce the costs of childbirth, childcare and education.

Lei also noted that the health authorities is drafting the child care services law, which has entered the deliberation process of the National People's Congress. 

Global Times