Blitz Bureau
CHINA’S Finance Ministry on July 30 said it had earmarked 90 billion yuan ($12.54 billion) as an initial budget for childcare subsidy payments this year, an amount that experts said would probably be insufficient to boost a flagging birth rate.
China announced a childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan per year for every child, until they reach the age of three. Subsidies will start from this year, and children born before 2025 who are less than three years old will get partial subsidies.
Families can apply for the support from late August, Wang Haidong, director of the Department of Population and Family of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference to explain the programme. Chinese provinces have started issuing local childcare subsidies in the last two years, but the amounts are not uniform and range from 1,000 yuan per child to as much as 100,000 yuan including housing subsidies. Guo Yang, director at the Ministry of Finance, said the Central government would subsidise local administrations. “This demonstrates the central government’s high attention and strong support for local governments and will further strengthen local management responsibilities,” he said.
The high cost of childcare and education, as well as job uncertainty and a slowing economy, have discouraged many young Chinese couples from starting a family, at a time when China is already ageing. Roughly 300 million Chinese are expected to enter retirement in the coming decade – the equivalent of almost the entire U.S. population
