The News
China’s local governments are stepping up attempts to encourage citizens to have more babies, boosting subsidies for childcare and supplies.
More than 20 provincial administrations are now offering subsidies to encourage young couples to marry and have babies — Hohhot, the regional capital of Inner Mongolia, will pay first-time parents $1,400 and more for second and third children — and earlier this month Premier Li Qiang announced nationwide free preschool education.
The world’s most populous country until recently, China saw its population fall for a third consecutive year in 2024, and marriages plummeted by a fifth, the biggest drop on record. The ongoing effects of Beijing’s one-child policy, plus urbanization and the growing costs of raising a family, have driven the decline, Reuters reported.
