Guideline lends support to elderly, child care

China is taking more steps to boost the sound development of elderly care and child care services, including effectively expanding the supply of inclusive services for ordinary families.

According to a guideline issued by the General Office of the State Council on Dec 31, the efforts will help improve people's livelihood, enhance the harmony of families and foster new economic drivers.

To establish a policy system that provides accessible elderly care and child care services, the guideline demanded a plan for these sectors in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

The Chinese government will vigorously develop affordable, convenient elderly care and child care services, encourage the engagement of more parties in these sectors and make integrated use of policies in different areas including planning, housing and finance, the guideline said.

For example, the land use for such services will be guaranteed in the annual supply plan of construction land. Local authorities are encouraged to explore the appropriate renovation of houses and facilities in old residential communities affiliated with State-owned enterprises.

Neighborhood and village committees also can be used to offer elderly and child care services, helping families to improve caring abilities, the guideline said, noting that a regular guidance and supervision mechanism over family care should be established.

According to the guideline, the Chinese government will carry out special campaigns to encourage local authorities and enterprises to establish a group of institutions that provide inclusive senior care and child care services.

Charity and social organizations are also encouraged to develop volunteer programs for taking care of children and the elderly, it said.

Registration for pledges of movables improved

China on Jan 1 began implementing unified registration for a system that would make it easier for people and businesses nationwide to borrow money using movable property — such as personal items or other products — for collateral, according to a circular released by the State Council on Dec 29.

The effort to unify the registration of such transactions, called pledges, aims to further improve the business environment and facilitate the financial sector to better serve the real economy, it said.

According to the circular, registration responsibility for pledges of production equipment, raw materials, semi-finished products and product mortgages previously undertaken by the State Administration for Market Regulation; registration responsibility for pledges of accounts receivables, deposits, financial leases; and factoring — in which a company sells its invoices to a third party — by the People's Bank of China will all be assumed by the latter.

Relevant parties will be able to register through a self-service system at the credit reference center of the PBOC, and they will be held accountable for the authenticity, completeness and legality of the application. Registration departments will not conduct substantive review of the registration content, it said.

The circular said that the PBOC should strengthen guidance and supervision over the center, which is not allowed to carry out pre-process reviews.