China has introduced its first nationwide child-rearing subsidy, offering parents up to 10,800 yuan (approximately A$2,307) per child under three in a bid to reverse declining birth rates.
The policy, announced on 29 July, provides annual payments of 3,600 yuan ($769) per child and is retroactive to 1 January 2025.
Families with children born between 2022 and 2024 are also eligible for partial subsidies.
The initiative is expected to benefit around 20 million families and comes amid growing demographic concerns, including a shrinking and aging population.
Despite ending its one-child policy nearly a decade ago, China’s birth rate continues to fall.
In 2024, the country recorded 9.54 million births — half the number seen in 2016 — and experienced its third consecutive year of population decline.
Local governments have already piloted similar incentives: Hohhot offers up to 100,000 yuan per baby for families with three children, while Shenyang provides 500 yuan monthly for third children under age three.
Beijing has also urged municipalities to expand free preschool access to ease financial burdens on young families.
China's cost of raising a child averages $116,052 through age 17, making it one of the most expensive countries globally in relative terms.
The new subsidy aims to reduce this barrier and foster a “fertility-friendly” environment.
Analysts view the move as part of a broader strategy to stabilise China’s labor force and economic trajectory amid long-term demographic shifts.
