China to promote new marriage and childbearing culture

China Family Planning Association, or CFPA, said on Friday that it plans to strengthen the promotion of a new style of marriage and childbearing culture and contribute to the establishment of a birth-friendly society this year.

Yu Xuejun, vice president of CFPA, said that the new marriage and childbearing culture should integrate the traditional virtues of Chinese culture and the spirit of current times.

"Innovative and wider efforts should be made to guide the young population to set up a positive perspective on marriage, childbearing and family to create a momentum for them to actively seek tying knots and having children," he said.

Local family planning associations will also be supported and encouraged to participate in the establishment and management of nursery care and other comprehensive service centers.

During the past year, CFPA strove to highlight a series of key information, including respecting the social value of childbearing, advocating for get married and have children at appropriate ages, encouraging couples to share child-rearing responsibilities and curbing high bride prices and other outdated customs.

"A total of 460,000 awareness campaigns covering 61 million people had been rolled out in 2024," according to data released during the meeting.

In the meantime, as of the end of last year, CFPA had set up more than 1,000 centers dedicated to education on improving birth outcome and child development as well as more than 4,000 facilities that offer early childhood education and parent-child activities for families with toddlers aged three and under.

Yu said CFPA will continue to support the establishment of such centers and expand their coverage this year as part of efforts to help build a birth-friendly society.

CFPA also stressed action to help spread health information and improve the quality of the population, as well as address acute and urgent demands of people of childbearing age and families in need.