China Considers One-Time Subsidy of $14,000 per Child to Boost Fertility Rates

According to data from the seventh national population census in 2020, the progressive fertility rate from never having a child to having one child is 88%, from one child to two children is 45%, and from two children to three or more is approximately 8%. In 2022, China's birth population was 9.56 million, with the proportion of first, second, and third or more children being 46.1%, 38.9%, and 15.0%, respectively. Experts argue that fertility support policies should focus on supporting first-time parents, as having a first child is the foundation of fertility rates, and the fertility support policy system should be perfected to treat each birth and each child fairly and justly, regardless of birth order, and provide corresponding subsidies and benefits.

In addition to childcare subsidies, some provinces and cities have introduced social security subsidies for first-time parents, such as Jiangsu Province's expansion of its subsidy standard for enterprise payments for female employees' maternity leave to include first-time parents, providing a 50% subsidy. The government work report also proposes the development of integrated childcare services and the provision of more public childcare services, as well as the gradual implementation of free pre-school education. Population economist and Ctrip Chairman Liang Jianzhang recommends implementing measures such as flexible working arrangements and equal parental leave to alleviate the time burden on families, and suggests providing a monthly subsidy of 1,000 yuan for the first child, 2,000 yuan for the second child, and 3,000 yuan for the third child and above, with corresponding reductions in social security and income tax.

Recently, Hohhot City has introduced a new policy, offering a one-time subsidy of 10,000 yuan for the first child, 50,000 yuan for the second child, and 100,000 yuan for the third child, with the subsidy for the second and third child paid annually over 5 and 10 years, respectively. This policy has been praised for its "sincerity" and "high gold content," and is considered a significant step in encouraging fertility. The policy's effectiveness is expected to be enhanced by its simplicity and flexibility, allowing families to easily access the subsidies without excessive administrative burden.

However, some experts and netizens have expressed concerns that a one-time subsidy of 100,000 yuan per child may not be effective in encouraging fertility, as it may lead to people having children solely for the financial benefit, and then neglecting their responsibility to raise them. Others have suggested that the subsidy should be paid annually, rather than as a one-time payment, to ensure that families continue to receive support over time. Despite these concerns, the introduction of childcare subsidies and other policies has provided new hope for boosting fertility rates, and experts emphasize that a good policy must have good implementation and supervision mechanisms to be effective.

The government needs to continue to increase investment, strengthen interdepartmental cooperation, and perfect supervision mechanisms to ensure that policies can truly be implemented and produce long-term effects. Promoting birth and increasing the birth rate is a long-term process that requires patience, persistence, and confidence, and the government must continue to work on perfecting the birth support policy system, increasing investment, and strengthening supervision mechanisms to ensure that policies can truly be effective and produce long-term effects. With China's population facing a significant decline, with a reduction of 850,000 people in 2022, the government's efforts to encourage fertility are seen as crucial to addressing the country's demographic challenges.