Building a Better Future: China’s Care System and High-Quality Human Investment

China stands at a historic demographic and developmental crossroad. Alongside decades of sustained growth that has brought the country close to the threshold of "very high" human development, structural shifts - including population aging, declining fertility, accelerating urbanization, and evolving household compositions - are reshaping both the economy and the social fabric. These changes have particular implications for the provision of care and care workforce, spanning childcare, eldercare, and care for persons with disabilities.

This paper proposes the Chinese Care System Framework (CCSF), a conceptual and analytical framework for examining the modernizing transformation of China's care system. Grounded in the UN's 6R Principles (Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute, Reward, Represent, and Resource), the CCSF approaches the care system not as a set of isolated welfare programs, but as a dynamic, gender-responsive ecosystem in which families, communities, markets, and the state interact as interdependent actors. The CCSF is designed to serve two interconnected purposes: to map the interplay between internal and external factors within the current care system, and to identify pathways for its evolution.

Based on the CCSF, this research proposes a comprehensive set of strategic policy recommendations that outline the transition pathway for China’s care system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Recommendations are structured sequentially, cascading from system-wide reforms through the CCSF layers, down to the family and care-recipient level. This deliberate progression emphasizes that resolving macro-level structural issues is a prerequisite for effectively delivering support to families and individuals.