China to combat nation's demographic challenges

Providing full-life cycle health services, reducing childrearing burden and encouraging young people to marry and have children at appropriate ages are among key measures to address demographic challenges, a Chinese health official said on Thursday.

Yu Xuejun, vice minister of the National Health Commission, said that low birthrates, an aging population and increasingly uneven distribution of population across different regions are three defining features of the nation's demography.

To cope with these trends, Yu said that the commission will strive to increase life expectancy, improve management of chronic diseases and provide full-cycle health services for the entire population.

Continued efforts will also be made to boost affordable nursery care services, among other measures, so as to reduce financial pressure on families, encourage births and ultimately obtain an appropriate fertility level.

The commission will also focus on creating social environments that encourage young people to marry and have children at proper ages and foster a positive view on marriage and family among them, as well as encouraging parents to share child-rearing responsibilities, he added.