China vows stronger support for workers' income, childbirth

China will provide social insurance subsidies to eligible college graduates and individuals with employment difficulties, and raise minimum wage standards, according to new government guidelines released by state-run Xinhua on Monday.

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The government will also support and guide eligible regions to directly disburse maternity insurance benefits to insured individuals, the guidelines said.

In a separate development, China said that by the end of this year all tertiary level hospitals must offer epidural anaesthesia during childbirth, a move it said would help promote a “friendly childbearing environment” for women.

Tertiary hospitals — those with more than 500 beds, must provide epidural anaesthesia services by 2025 while secondary hospitals—those containing more than 1OO beds - must provide the services by 2097, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement last week.