Page 33 - Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development

medical and healthcare personnel provide better services and uphold
professional ethics.

We should promote the preservation and innovative development of
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as well as integrated application of TCM
and Western medicine. We should support the development of innovative

drugs and medical apparatus and instruments and provide better mental and
psychological health services.
43. Promoting high-quality population development

A sound system will be instituted to provide full life-cycle population
services to all. We should encourage positive views on marriage and
childbearing, refine the policies and incentives for boosting birth rates, and

effectively bring down the costs of childbirth, parenting, and education
through childcare subsidies and personal income tax credits. We should
improve the maternity insurance system, better implement parental leave,

and carry out initiatives to provide better services for women in the early
stages of pregnancy, improve reproductive health, and better prevent and
treat birth defects. We should expand demonstrations and trials for

subsidized childcare services, provide support for public-benefit childcare
services and integrated nursery and childcare services, and take steps to
improve relevant systems. Better health services should be ensured for

women and children.
We must actively respond to population aging and refine the policies and
mechanisms for coordinating the development of elderly care programs and

industries. We should enhance the provision of basic elderly care services,
improve elderly care service networks in both urban and rural areas, and
renovate more public facilities to make them age-friendly and barrier-free. We

should provide medical services integrated with infant care and elderly care.
We should roll out insurance schemes for long-term care, improve the care
system for seniors who are functionally impaired, and expand rehabilitation

services and hospice care. The statutory retirement age should be gradually
raised in a prudent manner. We should improve relevant policies on age
requirements related to employment and social security, actively tap elderly

human resources, and develop the silver economy.
44. Ensuring more equitable access to basic public services
We should establish assessment standards for equitable access to basic
public services, refine the scope and specifics of these services, and define the

targets, pathways, and measures for realizing equitable access to them. We

32