Chen Xiaoguang, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attended a consultation meeting on teaching staff development for mental health education, a key proposal submitted to the Fifth Session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee this year.

Officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the three agencies responsible for handling the proposal, exchanged ideas on many topics, such as establishing a national platform for young people's mental health services, strengthening the training of service providers, and increasing policy support for mental health education at the meeting, organized by the Committee on Social and Legal Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee.

Chen, also executive vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League, said the consultation will help build consensus and aid in the search for joint solutions. He called for more efforts to enhance cross-departmental coordination, improve identification and intervention for mental health issues in children and young people, and build up a four-tier response network that consists of schools, families, hospitals, and governments.

Chen also said it's necessary to incorporate mental health into the compulsory education system and build a public service system for children's mental well-being.

In supervising the handling of the key proposal, the Committee on Social and Legal Affairs also referred to other similar ideas on the topic, including one submitted by the Central Committee of the China Democratic League.