China offers parents $1,500 in bid to boost births

China has started a new program to encourage families to have more children by offering them financial support. The government will give parents 3,600 yuan, which is about 500 US dollars, every year for each child under the age of three. This is the first time China has introduced a nationwide subsidy to help increase the birth rate. The country has been facing a decline in the number of babies being born, even after ending its one-child policy almost ten years ago. The new subsidy is expected to help around 20 million families with the costs of raising young children.

Several provinces in China have already tried giving money to parents to encourage them to have more children, but now the government is making it a national policy. Parents can receive up to 10,800 yuan for each child under three. The policy will also be applied retroactively, so families with children born between 2022 and 2024 can apply for partial subsidies. This move comes after local governments in cities like Hohhot and Shenyang started their own programs. For example, Hohhot offers up to 100,000 yuan for couples with at least three children, and Shenyang gives 500 yuan a month to families with a third child under three.

The government is also looking at other ways to help families, such as making preschool education free. Raising children in China is very expensive compared to other countries. According to a study by the YuWa Population Research Institute, it costs about 75,700 US dollars to raise a child to the age of 17 in China. This high cost is one reason why many couples are choosing not to have more children. In 2024, China recorded 9. 54 million births, which was a slight increase from the previous year, but the overall population continued to shrink. The country now has about 1. 4 billion people, but the population is aging, which is a big concern for the government.

The government hopes that by giving money to parents and making education more affordable, more families will decide to have children. Nurses and doctors are working to support new mothers and babies, and during the Spring Festival, many families travel with their young children. The government believes that these new policies will make it easier for parents to raise children and will help China have a stronger and younger population in the future.

This new plan is a big step for China as it tries to solve its population problems. The government understands that raising children is difficult and expensive, and they want to make it easier for families. By offering financial support and improving education, they hope to encourage more people to have children. Many people are watching to see if this plan will work and if it will help China have more young people in the years to come.