The General Office of the State Council issued "Several Measures on Accelerating the Improvement of the Fertility Support Policy System and Promoting the Construction of a Fertility-Friendly Society."

The General Office of the State Council recently issued "Several Measures on Accelerating the Improvement of the Fertility Support Policy System and Promoting the Construction of a Fertility-Friendly Society" (hereinafter referred to as the "Several Measures").

The "Several Measures" are guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second, third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, adhere to the people-centered development ideology, recognize, adapt to, and lead the new normal of population development, improve the policy system and incentive mechanisms for fertility support, establish a population service system that covers the entire population and the entire life cycle, effectively reduce the costs of fertility, nurturing, and education, create a social atmosphere that respects and supports fertility, and provide strong support for achieving a moderate fertility level and promoting high-quality population development.

"Several Measures" proposes a series of fertility support measures from various aspects.

One is to strengthen support for fertility services. Enhance the protection function of maternity insurance, and guide places with conditions to include flexible employment personnel, migrant workers, and new employment forms personnel participating in the employee basic medical insurance into maternity insurance. Improve the maternity leave system to ensure the full implementation of legally stipulated maternity leave, birth reward leave, paternity leave, and parental leave. Establish a birth subsidy system, guide local governments in policy alignment, and actively and steadily ensure implementation. Strengthen reproductive health services, guide regions to include appropriate labor pain relief and assisted reproductive technology projects into the scope of medical insurance reimbursement.

Second, strengthen the construction of childcare service systems. Enhance the level of children's medical services, promptly include eligible children's medications in the medical insurance reimbursement scope through procedures. Increase the supply of affordable childcare services, prioritize achieving full coverage of comprehensive childcare centers at the prefecture-level city level, vigorously develop community-embedded childcare, actively support the development of various models such as employer-sponsored childcare and family childcare points, and vigorously promote integrated childcare services. Improve support policies for affordable childcare, encourage places with conditions to provide appropriate operational subsidies to affordable childcare institutions based on actual conditions. Promote the development and protection of children.

Third, strengthen support measures in education, housing, employment, and other areas. Expand the supply of high-quality educational resources, support primary and secondary schools in actively carrying out after-school services and social practice projects, and encourage local governments to implement specific measures for children from multiple-child families to attend the same school. Enhance housing support policies, encouraging places with the conditions to increase support for multi-child families in purchasing homes. Strengthen the protection of workers' rights and interests, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working hours, remote work, and other methods based on actual conditions to create a family-friendly work environment.

Four is to create a fertility-friendly social atmosphere. Actively build a new marriage and childbearing culture, vigorously advocate for positive views on marriage, childbearing, and family. Strengthen social advocacy and publicity, implement special campaigns for the publicity and education of high-quality population development. Enhance education on the national conditions and policies related to population, integrating relevant content into primary and secondary education, as well as undergraduate and vocational education.

The "Several Measures" require that all regions and departments should truly elevate their political stance, enhance their sense of responsibility and mission in doing a good job in population work in the new era, refine and implement specific measures to optimize, and fulfill the responsibilities of the government, employers, and individuals, ensuring that all policies and tasks supporting childbirth are effectively implemented and yield tangible results.