China's Ministry of Finance will further enhance fiscal support for sectors related to people's well-being and ensure the implementation of supporting policies in areas such as education, healthcare, elderly care and childcare, a senior official said Tuesday.
Central authorities recently unveiled a set of measures targeting the most immediate and tangible issues affecting people's lives.
To ensure the successful rollout of these measures, China has pledged substantial increases in fiscal spending.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Ge Zhihao, an official with the Ministry of Finance, said that 2025 budget funds for education, as well as social security and employment, will each approach 4.5 trillion yuan (about 626.68 billion U.S. dollars), representing year-on-year increases of 6.1 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, while healthcare spending will also see significant increases.
He mentioned that the country will strengthen the employment-first policy this year. The central government has allocated 66.74 billion yuan (about 92.94 billion U.S. dollars) of funds for employment subsidies. These funds will be used to facilitate the implementation of policies supporting employment. Also, the country has introduced policies such as one-off subsidies for enterprises and that hire unemployed college graduates, and will continue to support high-quality vocational skills training.
Inputs in basic elderly care and basic medical care will be increased, he added.
Government subsidies for basic public health services will be increased to 99 yuan (about 13.79 U.S. dollars) per person per year, and government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents increased from 670 yuan (about 93.31 U.S. dollars) to 700 yuan (about 97.48 U.S. dollars) per person per year. Extensive efforts will be made to expand and improve the country's educational resources. A total of 80.945 billion yuan (about 11.27 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated in the central government budget for student financial aid and subsidies. The country will promote free preschool education in a phased way.
Meanwhile, the country has allocated 156.68 billion yuan (about 21.82 billion U.S. dollars) in aid subsidies for people in need to ensure their basic living needs are met, according to the official.
"In terms of elderly and child care, the Ministry of Finance is actively collaborating with relevant departments to improve the service system for elderly and child care. We will advance community-supported at-home elderly care services. More care will be provided to functionally impaired elderly persons. We will promote the high-quality development of public-interest childcare services, and expedite the establishment and implementation of the system of childcare subsidies. Relevant efforts are being accelerated," he said.
China's finance ministry to further enhance fiscal support for people's well-being
