China’s National Health Commission director said Monday that the Communist Party will fund large expansions of pediatric services and childcare for employed parents to lift births. The effort sits inside the 15th Five-Year Plan, which also urges citizens to marry and have sizable families.

Official figures show births fell 17 percent in 2025 to fewer than 8 million, the population dropped 3 million to 1.404 billion by year-end, and China lost its rank as the world’s most populous country to India in 2023. A surplus of about 33 million men remains from earlier sex-selective practices, and some analysts linked the latest drop to the Year of the Snake.

Lei Haichao told reporters the pattern is common in rapidly industrializing economies, that China will still have a sizable workforce, and that more than 10 million students enter universities each year.