China's first blue book on the early development of children under 3 years old was released on Wednesday, providing targeted recommendations for addressing challenges related to caring for infants and toddlers, including insufficient investment, imbalances in urban and rural areas and a lack of professional talent.

The blue book, titled "China 0-3 Years Early Childhood Development Report (2024)", was released by the China Philanthropy Research Institute at Beijing Normal University. It urges the transition from a compensatory to a universal welfare approach in the early childhood development of the approximately 30 million children under age 3 in the country.

Gao Huajun, head of the institute, said early care and development for children under 3 years old have become part of China's strategy to address its aging population and to improve the balance of its demographics.

An effort to create 4.5 childcare slots per 1,000 people was made a national target in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and reflects a new phase of universal development, the blue book said.

By February this year, China had nearly 100,000 childcare service institutions providing 4.8 million slots — 3.38 childcare slots per 1,000 people, it said.

"In China, we have been relatively late in paying attention to the under 3 age group," Gao said, adding that the country is facing some structural challenges in the sector, such as misaligned population development strategies and insufficient support systems for childbearing.

China is at a turning point, transitioning from localized pilots and explorations toward comprehensive institutional development and widespread implementation. A universal approach to child welfare is particularly important to effectively focus on this age group, he said.

The blue book emphasizes the importance of scaling local innovative practices, training professional talent and urging collaborative efforts involving the government, enterprises and social organizations.

Specific budget lines in central government expenditure and philanthropic contributions are encouraged to enhance funding for children under age 3, it said.

Song Wenzhen, former deputy director of the National Working Committee on Children and Women of the State Council, highlighted the need for prioritizing family-oriented public services over solely building infrastructure.

"Many supportive policies have focused on building facilities rather than management or services," Song said, calling for balancing the investment in infrastructure and early childcare services.

She highlighted further strengthening family-friendly policies to improve comprehensive early childhood development, such as integrating parental education into public services and standardizing maternity benefits and parental leave policies to ensure equitable support across regions.

Lu Mai, former vice-chairman of the China Development Research Foundation, emphasized that addressing gaps in early childhood development, especially in rural and underdeveloped areas, could yield sizeable returns.

Echoing Lu, Shi Yaojiang, a professor at the Center for Experimental Economics in Education at Shaanxi Normal University, emphasized the critical need for trained professionals and scalable interventions to bridge disparities between urban and rural areas, particularly in nurturing rather than simply providing childcare.

Most practitioners of early childhood development are trained to work with children between 3 and 6, with their roles now being adjusted to cover the group under 3, Shi said.

"Despite the decline in births, rural women still constitute the primary group for childbearing. Addressing the challenge of population growth hinges on effectively solving the problem of nurturing and educating children in rural areas," he said.