Overview

• The central government is disbursing 3,600 yuan annually for each child under three with funding retroactive to January and aimed at helping 20 million families this year.
• This initiative represents Beijing’s first unified national childcare payment following local pilot programs that began in mid-2023.
• Birth rates have fallen for three consecutive years, with 9 million births and 11.1 million deaths recorded in 2023 according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
• Surveys and social media posts reveal young adults deterred by high housing prices, long work hours and memories of punitive one-child policy fines.
• Demographers point to the limited success of similar subsidies in Japan and South Korea and say broader economic and social reforms will be needed to reverse the downward trend.