In recent years, China has been facing severe population challenges. The birth rate continues to decline, falling below the warning line, aging population is accelerating, and the proportion of the working-age population is shrinking.
After implementing the cruel “family planning, one-child policy” for decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now resorting to various means to encourage people to have more children.
According to a recent report cited by Bloomberg, the CCP has introduced a new nationwide policy that will provide a cash allowance of 3600 Chinese yuan (approximately 500 USD) per year to each child born after January 1, 2025, to families. These payments will continue until the child reaches three years old.
This is built upon the earlier announced local cash subsidies, which previously mainly targeted couples having a second or third child.
In addition, other measures introduced by the CCP include subsidies for in vitro fertilization treatment and providing childcare subsidies.
In May, the CCP officially announced that all tertiary hospitals must provide epidural anesthesia for pregnant women during childbirth to alleviate the pressure of delivery and encourage an increase in the birth rate.
Furthermore, Xiamen University professor Zhao Yanqing, who proposed the slogan in 2021 that “people who do not have children should be punished,” recently put forth a new policy of “differential distribution of pensions based on the number of children born.”
This policy is based on the logic that “those who have more children make greater contributions and should receive more pension benefits,” attempting to incentivize young people to have children by appealing to their desire for higher pensions and alleviate the pressure of the gradually shrinking pension fund. However, this new policy has been criticized by some netizens as “another damaging move.”
These recent efforts by the Chinese government reflect the deepening concerns over the demographic challenges the country is facing and the various approaches being taken to address them.