Five department heads respond to hot issues in people's livelihood. The key points are here!

The Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 7. Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli, and Director of the National Health Commission Lei Haizhao will answer questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on topics related to education, civil affairs, human resources and social security, culture and tourism, health, and other issues.

China News Service Reporter Tian Yuhao Photo

Education

Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng. China News Service Reporter Tian Yuhao Photo

Our country hosts the world’s largest and highest-quality education system

There are 440,000 schools at all levels, with 280 million students enrolled;

The gross enrollment rate for preschool education is 92.9%, and for senior high school education is 92%;

The student financial aid system benefits about 150 million students annually;

The gross enrollment rate for higher education exceeds 60%.

Building a fair and high-quality basic education system will focus on four key tasks

Expand and improve quality to promote fairness

Increase public kindergarten places

Strengthen science and technology education and humanities education to cultivate students’ core literacy

Continue special initiatives for transparent enrollment

Ensure equal access to education for migrant children, left-behind children, children with disabilities, and others

Optimize resources to improve quality

Next, focus on increasing places in urban areas with net population inflow and in underdeveloped regions, and adaptively adjust educational resources across different stages

Support pilot programs for small class teaching in qualified areas, expand the “Silver Age Plan,” and improve township boarding schools and small rural schools as needed

Strengthen and benefit teachers to build a solid foundation

Implement teacher development action plans to bring high-quality teachers to cultivate future talent

Standardize governance to ensure safety

Carry out campus safety campaigns with stricter and more practical measures to strengthen campus security

Continue to address illegal schooling, extended study hours, campus bullying, and other issues, and conduct special rectification campaigns on school meals and textbook procurement

Vigorously implement health education projects

Focus on three key areas

If students sweat, they should move. Ensure “2 hours” of physical activity and “15 minutes” of exercise are implemented in every school, benefiting every student. Promote “Super Class” and “Super School” activities to energize campuses, ensuring each student learns at least one sport skill for lifelong benefit.

If students have light in their eyes, their mental health is strong. Cultivate sunshine in their hearts to bring brightness to their eyes. Launch a new round of mental health promotion for students and build a comprehensive mental health education system for all staff.

Health comes first, and the key is to see results. Accelerate the development of “Teaching Consortiums,” promoting effective integration of schools, family education, and social services.

Civil Affairs

Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan. China News Service Reporter Tian Yuhao Photo

Vigorously develop community-supported home-based elderly care services

Run well the elderly dining halls; nearly 80,000 elderly meal assistance points have been established nationwide, serving over 3 million seniors daily;

Build more family elderly care beds; a total of 495,000 beds have been created, bringing professional care to the bedside;

Complete renovations for 2.24 million households of elderly with special difficulties to make home care safer;

This year, provide care service subsidies to moderately and severely disabled elderly, with a total of 1.72 billion yuan in vouchers redeemed, benefiting 892,000 seniors.

Expand, improve, and increase efficiency in elderly care services

In the next five years, continue building county-level comprehensive elderly care management platforms, expand regional elderly care centers, and adaptively increase coverage of village (community) elderly service stations, aiming to establish a three-tier county-township-village elderly care network by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan.

Enhance quality by updating equipment in elderly care institutions, strengthen specialized training for caregivers, develop elderly care technology, and improve safety and quality management to better ensure the well-being of the elderly.

Foster professional, chain, and branded elderly care providers, promote community-based home care, and support mutual aid elderly services. Focus on caring for disabled and dementia-affected seniors, and conduct regular visits and support for lonely and empty-nest elderly.

Focus on special rectification of funeral and burial services

In funeral services, address issues such as high fees, lack of transparency, and poor service quality through comprehensive reduction, fee cuts, and service improvements.

Eliminate unnecessary items, lower funeral costs, crack down on high charges and misleading practices.

Accelerate legal and policy improvements, increase public funeral facilities, implement “one-time after-death arrangements,” and optimize service offerings.

Publicize all fee items and standards.

After rectification, prices for commercial cemetery plots have decreased by 20%, and average funeral costs have dropped by 33%.

Human Resources and Social Security

Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping. China News Service Reporter Tian Yuhao Photo

Deepen the implementation of employment-first strategies, fulfill the “Four Stabilizations” requirements, strengthen guidance, expand channels, and focus on key groups to continuously achieve new progress in high-quality full employment.

“Spring comes early for diligent workers.” According to post-holiday surveys, the employment rate of enterprises and the return rate of workers have both exceeded 90%, marking a warm start in the labor market.

This year, about 12.7 million college graduates are expected. We will tap into various employment channels, expand grassroots employment, and help young people showcase their talents across industries.

Improve salary and social security systems, streamline employment, entrepreneurship, and retirement procedures into efficient “one-stop” services, promote the “One Card” for social security services, and plan employment and training service circles within 15-minute walk areas.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan, 72 new occupations will be introduced, covering digital economy, modern services, intelligent manufacturing, and more.

Encourage youth to illuminate their bright future with skills

Reporter: Several winners of the World Skills Competition will appear on this year’s Spring Festival Gala, impressing viewers. How will skill development be promoted afterward?

Wang Xiaoping: The 48th World Skills Competition will be held in Shanghai from September 22 to 27. Under the theme “Skills Change the World, Skills Light the Future,” it will be a high-standard, high-quality, spectacular event. This will also serve as an opportunity to invest more in people and motivate more young people to use skills to brighten their future.

Build a lifelong vocational skills training system covering the entire career

Provide preparatory training and general skills training for new workers;

Offer apprenticeship and on-the-job training for employees;

Conduct retraining and entrepreneurship training for workers changing jobs.

We will carry out large-scale vocational skills enhancement training, subsidizing over 10 million people, focusing on sectors like low-altitude economy, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, and health services, aligning closely with industry needs and employment.

Culture and Tourism

Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli. China News Service Reporter Tian Yuhao Photo

This year’s nine-day Spring Festival holiday saw 596 million domestic trips and over 800 billion yuan spent, setting new records.

By 2025, domestic travel is expected to exceed 6.5 billion trips, a year-on-year increase of over 16%, with spending reaching 6.3 trillion yuan, up 9.5%, also a record high.

In response to illegal practices like cheating tourists, forced shopping, and false advertising, we maintain a “zero tolerance” stance, with strict supervision. Any violations will be punished severely, and businesses involved will be shut down for rectification.

This year, joint efforts will continue to target false advertising, illegal solicitation, and forced consumption.

By 2025, inbound tourists are projected to surpass 150 million, with spending over 130 billion dollars; over 30 million foreigners will enter visa-free.

“Becoming Chinese” has become a popular online phrase. Many foreigners want to experience Chinese life—riding high-speed trains, watching drone shows, trying traditional Chinese massage, wearing Hanfu, and eating hotpot have become standard experiences.

Experience economy is trending

Travel is no longer just about sightseeing; people prefer to immerse themselves in local culture, pay for performances, queue for trendy attractions, and check in at cities.

Products that emphasize experience and empathy are more popular in the market. The experience economy is spreading worldwide.

We will promote deep integration of culture and tourism, cultivating new brands like travel following performances, intangible cultural heritage, and sports events.

Simultaneously, new formats such as cultural and tourism commerce, culture and tourism sports, culture and tourism arts, and culture and tourism agriculture will be developed. This integrated growth will create new value, meet people’s needs better, and foster new advantages.

Next steps

Focus on building a culturally strong and tourism-strong country, develop and implement the “14th Five-Year” cultural and tourism development plan, align with national development strategies, and incorporate culture and tourism into the overall planning of the Party and the country to better serve the development of the economy and society.

Health and Wellness

Director of the National Health Commission Lei Haizhao. China News Service Reporter Tian Yuhao Photo

By 2025, 52.6% of medical visits in China will be in primary healthcare institutions, which have achieved five consecutive years of growth in both visit numbers and share.

During the “14th Five-Year” period, about 1,000 close-knit county medical communities will be planned to improve continuity of healthcare services, especially at the city level, establishing referral and consultation centers to ensure ongoing patient care.

Last year’s health weight management campaign saw widespread participation. Over 5,500 secondary and tertiary hospitals set up weight management clinics providing professional guidance. Many cities expanded health walkways, some hotels and homes installed scales, and some cafeterias labeled calorie content.

People’s health and well-being are better protected, achieving historic progress

52.6%, the proportion of outpatient visits in primary healthcare in 2025

A 15-minute travel time to the nearest medical facility for over 90% of urban and rural households

¥10,800, the childcare subsidy provided by the Chinese government for infants born after January 1, 2022, under legal regulations, with over 33 million families receiving it

An average life expectancy of 79.25 years, ranking among middle- and high-income countries

Enhance early cancer screening

People over 50, long-term smokers, those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or with a family history of lung cancer should undergo low-dose spiral CT scans annually;

Overweight individuals over 50, with smoking history or family history of colorectal cancer, should have colonoscopy or fecal occult blood tests every 3-5 years;

People over 45, heavy drinkers, with gastric ulcers or family history of gastric cancer, should have gastroscopy every 3-5 years;

Women over 35, with high risk factors like breast or ovarian cancer family history, should have breast cancer screening every 2-3 years.

Cancer is not terrible; prevention and early detection are key. We will strengthen early screening efforts and make services more accessible for everyone.

(Source: China News Service)