China announces a National Early Childhood Assistance Program; understand

The measure seeks to combat the aging of the population and reverse seven years of falling births, with integrated actions and direct support to families

In a strategic movement to face the demographic challenges that have been worrying the country, China announced on Monday (4) the launch of a national subsidy program for families with young children. The initiative, which starts in 2025, aims to relieve the costs associated with early childhood and encourage the increase of birth in the most populous country in the world.

The program provides for payment of 3,600 yuans (approximately R $ 2,650) per year for each child under three years old. The amount will be granted directly to families and will not be considered income for the purposes of calculating care benefits such as minimum aid or other social programs. In addition, the subsidy is exempt from individual income tax, which expands its financial impact on benefited families.

According to official estimates, about 20 million households should benefit annually with the measure, which is part of a broader set of public policies aimed at improving conditions for the formation of new generations.

“International experiences show that money subsidies are an indispensable part of pro-national measures,” said Zhang Benbo, a researcher at an institute linked to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The measure also finds academic support. Song Jian, a professor at the Popular University of China, stressed that developed countries that have already undergone low birth rates adopted similar strategies. “These countries realized that direct financial incentives play an important role in supporting families,” he said.

China is currently experiencing a double demographic challenge: continuous fall in the number of births and the rapid aging of the population. The birth rate dropped for seven consecutive years before registering a slight recovery by 2024. At the same time, the number of elderly people (60 or older) already exceeds 310 million people.

Over the past ten years, the Chinese government has gradually flexible the old family planning rules. In 2016, couples were allowed to have two children, and in 2021, the release reached the possibility of having a third child, accompanied by a government support package.

The inclusion of the national subsidy was first mentioned in this year’s Government’s work report in March. However, some cities were already testing similar measures with promising results.

For example, Hohhot, the capital of the autonomous region of Mongolia Interior, in the north of the country, offers a single bonus of 10,000 yuans for the first child, and 10,000 Yuans per year for the second up to five years of age. The third child and subsequent ones receive the same amount annually until they are ten years old.

Already Shenyang, in the province of Liaoning, in the Northeast, pays a monthly subsidy of 500 yuans to local families who have a third child, while the child is not three years old.

“When our third baby was born, the community agents personally came to remind us to ask for help to birth. We sometimes played that the baby came with a salary,” Wang Lei, mother of three in Ychchuan, told Ningxia, northwest China.

Cases such as Panzhihua, a pioneer city in the country to offer such subsidies, demonstrate positive results. The city recorded population growth among its permanent residents for four consecutive years – something rare in a national context of stagnation or even reduction of the population.

Another remarkable example is the municipality of Tianmen, in the central province of Hubei. In 2024, the number of births grew 17% over the previous year, significantly exceeding the national average of 5.8%. This increase ended a continuous fall trajectory that lasted eight years. Of the 7,217 babies born in Tianmen last year, more than half were Mondays or third children of their respective families.

“Although the value of the subsidy does not cover all the expenses with the child, it helps a lot with essential things like diapers and children’s formula. It takes a big weight off our backs,” said Ma Ying, a mother resident in Guyuan, also in Ningxia.

For Yang Yiyong, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Institute, recent pro-national policies begin to show initial results. He also points out that improvements in the workplace and new opportunities for women have contributed to more couples to consider children.

However, experts warn that the allowance alone is not enough. Mao Zhuoyan, a professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business, stressed that while financial incentive is an important step, he needs to be integrated with other measures to be more effective.

“It is essential that the allowance goes together with parental license policies, access to day care centers, early childhood education and housing support. If we treat each policy in isolation, the impact can be limited,” said Mao.

In another recent initiative, the central government released a guidance asking local governments to elaborate detailed plans for the introduction of free preschool education. In addition, the country is expanding care services for children under the age of three to alleviate pressure on parents who work and promote better early childhood development.

With these combined actions, China seeks to balance its population structure and create conditions for a sustainable future in the face of the ongoing demographic transformations.

In March, Hohhot, the capital of Mongolia Interior, China, announced a series of children’s care subsidies this month and promised to “take care” of new mothers, offering them a daily cup of free milk. Meanwhile, local provinces intensify efforts to reverse the country’s population fall.

More than 20 provincial administrations throughout the Chinese territory began offering day care centers, according to the Official Night Agency Xinhua on Monday. These incentives have become one of the pillars of government strategies to motivate young couples to marry and have children.

The population of China fell for the third consecutive year in 2024, with weddings plummeting by 20%, the largest reduction ever documented. The country faces an unprecedented demographic crisis, mainly resulting from the policy of the only child that prevailed between 1980 and 2015, rapid urbanization and the high cost of supporting a family. Since 2021, couples can have up to three children.

Earlier this month, during the Chinese Parliament Annual Meeting, Prime Minister Li Qiang announced subsidies for day care and free preschool education as measures to stimulate the birth rate.

An action plan to boost domestic consumption, released on Sunday, determined that authorities “study and establish a subsidy system for child care”.

Hohhot, a northern town surrounded by vast green pastures, announced that couples would receive a single payment of 10,000 yuans ($ 1,382.51) for the first child and 10,000 yuans per year by the second baby until the child was five years old.

A third child would receive an annual subsidy of 10,000 yuans up to ten years old – a total amount that corresponds to twice the annual income of local residents.

The capital of the inner Mongolia also launched what it called “care action with the fertility of a cup of milk for mothers”, ensuring a cup of milk available freely every day to any mother who gives birth after March 1.

The new mothers will also be entitled to an electronic voucher worth 3,000 yuans, provided by the country’s two main dairy companies: Yili (60087.ss) and China Mengniu Dairy (2319.hk).

The free milk symbolic initiative aims not only to provide nutritional support to postpartum mothers, but also reinforce the government message that raising children is a national priority. Local employees claim that daily milk distribution is part of a broader package of care that includes medical follow -up and psychological support.

“We want mothers to feel truly supported in all aspects of motherhood,” said a municipal employee responsible for family policies. “Every baby born is an investment in the future of our nation.”

The unusual measure of free milk has already caught the attention of experts in demographics and public policies. Some analysts praise the creative approach, while others question whether symbolic benefits will have a real impact on reproductive decisions on a context of high life costs and professional pressures.

“Milk is a beautiful gesture, but what really weighs when having children are structural factors: stable jobs, accessible housing and career opportunities for women,” said a researcher at the University of Beijing who studies demographic trends.

Despite criticism, similar programs have shown positive results in some regions. Tianmen, a municipality in the Central Province of Hubei, recorded a 17% increase in births in 2024-almost three times the national average-after implementing incentive package that includes subsidies and improvements in maternal and child health services.

The success of these local initiatives pressures the central government to expand similar programs on a national scale. Experts believe that combining direct financial incentives with improvements in child care infrastructure can be the key to reversing the rapid aging trend of the Chinese population.

Meanwhile, Hohhot continues his multifaceted approach, betting that small gestures – such as a cup of milk a day – coupled with robust policies can make a difference in one of the biggest demographic challenges in China’s history.

With information from Reuters and Xinhua*