China to improve childcare in next 5 years: official

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China has over 47 million children under the age of three and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will seek improved childcare service in the next five years, an NDRC official said Sunday.

Raising children brings families under financial strain and affects parents' career, which has been a focus of society, Ou Xiaoli said at a forum organized by the China Family Planning Association.

To address the problem, the National Health Commission (NHC) is working with other departments to improve policies, regulations, standards and supply childcare services, said Yu Xuejun, deputy head of the NHC.

Yu also pledged strengthened policy support to make childcare services more universally available to society.

China will reduce the cost of childbirth, parenting and education in the coming five years, and promote the balanced development of its population in the long-run, according to the Communist Party of China Central Committee's proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), which was made public in early November.