(Adnkronos) – A new ‘baby bonus’ in China. The Chinese government promises 3,600 yuan, the equivalent of about 430 euros, “per year for each child under three years old” throughout the territory of the Asian giant. The announcement came from official media, after there had been local initiatives in the past. The Xinhua agency speaks of what is described as “a nationwide childcare subsidy program”. The stated goal is to “support families and the birth rate” in a Dragon that was the country of the “one-child policy” and that wants to counteract the worsening demographic crisis, the decline in the population growth rate while dealing with the aging population.
CCTV speaks of a “nationwide measure with the aim of improving the living conditions of the population” and of “reducing” the “costs of raising children”. The ‘bonus’ is retroactive. The broadcaster explains that “from January 1, 2025, the childcare subsidy system will provide subsidies for newborns under the age of three”.
In particular, parents of children born from January 1, 2025 will be able to benefit from the financial support for three years. Those of children born before January 1 and under the age of three will still be entitled to the ‘bonus’, but to a lesser extent.
Today’s announcement, at the national level, is in its own way a novelty in a country that, after announcing the farewell to the “one-child policy” in 2015, has tried to revive births with a series of measures at the local level, from cash incentives to propaganda campaigns.
All in a China where fewer and fewer people are getting married. 2024 was the ‘black year’ of marriages despite the government’s attempts to encourage young people – who are dealing with unemployment – to get married and to promote births. According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, last year in the Asian giant 6.1 million couples registered their ‘I do’, 20.5% less than in 2023 and less than half compared to 2013, when more than 13 million couples decided to get married. At the time the data was released, CNN highlighted how it was the lowest figure since the ministry began releasing statistics in 1986.
Last year in the Asian giant there were – official data say – 9.54 million new births and 10.93 million deaths. Data that also explains why since 2023 India, China’s eternal rival, has been the most populous country in the world.
