China’s National Development and Reform Commission: Do everything possible to solve problems such as “old age care and childcare difficulties”

China News Service, Beijing, November 10 (Reporter Wang Mengyao) Huang Weiru, deputy director of the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, said in Beijing on the 10th that for many families, the pressure to take care of the elderly and children at the same time is real. Doing everything possible to solve urgent and difficult problems such as "old age care and child care difficulties" is the top priority of ensuring and improving people's livelihood at present and in the future.

On the same day, the National Development and Reform Commission held a series of press conferences on the "15th Five-Year Plan" to introduce the situation of improving people's livelihood and well-being. Huang Weiru introduced that in 2026, RMB 14 billion has been invested in the central budget to support the construction, reconstruction and expansion of a number of elderly care and childcare service facilities in various places, the construction of more than 100,000 nursing care beds and more than 30,000 nursery places, and the use of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support the update of about 110,000 units (sets) of equipment in public elderly care institutions.

In the next step, various funding channels will be coordinated to continue to increase support. These include focusing on promoting the renovation and upgrading of old nursing homes and updating equipment, promoting the proportion of nursing beds in nursing homes to reach 73%, expanding the supply of integrated medical and nursing care services, and improving the care capabilities of disabled and dementia elderly people; focusing on promoting the full coverage of comprehensive childcare service centers at the municipal level, developing integrated childcare services, and encouraging employers to provide childcare.

She also introduced that localities will be guided to prioritize the utilization of idle resources in the community and build community-integrated comprehensive service facilities focusing on the service function of "one elder and one child" to provide day care, short-term care and other services; expand diversified door-to-door services, such as meal assistance, cleaning and bathing, early childhood development guidance, etc., and develop mobile elderly care services in mountainous areas, pastoral areas and rural areas in need.

In addition, Huang Weiru mentioned that the identification method and price formation mechanism of inclusive institutions will be improved, and policies such as institutional tax incentives and operating subsidies will be implemented to make service prices more affordable to the people.