In order to boost country's declining birth rate, the Chinese government is set to offer parents 3600 Yuan ($500) per child up to the age of 3 years, reports citing Chinese officials have said.
The population in China has declined for three consecutive years, as measures implemented decades ago are finally showing their signs with a more ageing population.
The second most populous nation in the world, after India, is facing an emerging demographic crisis. The number of births in 2024, 9.5 million, is half of the total population that was recorded in 2016, the year Beijing ended the one-child policy that was in place for more than three decades.
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Besides, the marriage rate in China has hit a record low due to the higher cost of raising children and career instability. According to official data, there are more than 20 provinces in China that have started to offer childcare subsidies.
Earlier in March, the capital of Inner Mongolia in northern China started offering families money to have more children. Couples with three or more children can get up to 100,000 Yuan for each new baby.
To create a “fertility-friendly society,” China is also planning to increase marriage leave from 5 to 25 days and double the current 60-day maternity leave to 150 days.
Analysts said that the subsidies, though, are a positive step but warned they won’t be enough to solve the Chinese ageing problem anytime soon. Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, told a media house that the new subsidy showed the government had recognised the "serious challenge" that low fertility poses to the economy.
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