The government has provided subsidies for giving birth! The Central Office and the State Council recently issued the “Implementation Plan for the Parenting Subsidy System” (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), which has attracted widespread attention from society.
The Plan specifies that from January 1, 2025, subsidies will be provided to infants and young children under the age of 3 who meet the legal and regulatory requirements for childbirth, until they reach the age of 3. The childcare subsidy is issued annually, and the current national basic standard is 3600 yuan per child per year. Among them, for infants and young children born before January 1, 2025 and under the age of 3, subsidies will be calculated based on the number of months they should receive subsidies. Child rearing subsidies issued in accordance with the regulations of the child rearing subsidy system are exempt from personal income tax. When identifying assistance recipients such as those receiving the minimum living allowance and those in extreme poverty, childcare subsidies are not included in family or personal income.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed the establishment of a maternity subsidy system, and this year’s government work report clearly stated the distribution of childcare subsidies. The issuance of childcare subsidies is the first time in China that universal cash subsidies have been provided to residents, fully reflecting the high attention of the Party Central Committee to ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods in development. It is estimated that over 20 million infants and young children in China can receive cash subsidies every year.
What is the underlying meaning behind the government’s policy of providing “real money and silver” subsidies to families raising children at a rate of 3600 yuan per child per year?
Behind 3600 yuan is a vivid manifestation of ‘investing in people’
The implementation of the childcare subsidy system embodies the high importance that the Party and the government attach to “people” and reflects the firm determination to “invest in people”. This move not only lays the foundation for promoting high-quality population development, but also accumulates strength for the long-term development of the country. This money is both an investment for the present and an investment for the future.
Parenting subsidies are a major policy measure that invests in people and is beneficial for the long-term accumulation of human capital. Parenting subsidies are investments in human resource reproduction, comprehensive human development, and high-quality population growth, which can achieve multiple policy goals such as increasing household income, boosting consumption, expanding domestic demand, and promoting domestic circulation.
The population issue is of paramount importance to our country and has always been a global, long-term, and strategic problem that our country faces. “Investing in people” is the internal requirement for Chinese path to modernization. The essence of Chinese path to modernization is human modernization. At present, China has generally shifted from an increasing population to a decreasing population, and the degree of aging and declining birth rates has deepened. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen support for childbirth. In 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Several Measures to Accelerate the Improvement of the Fertility Support Policy System and Promote the Construction of a Fertility Friendly Society”, proposing a package of fertility support measures from four aspects, including marriage, childbirth, nurturing, and education, covering multiple links from childbirth to childcare, education, medical care, housing, and employment. The implementation of the childcare subsidy system has strong practical relevance and is conducive to creating a good atmosphere of respect and support for childbirth in the whole society. At the same time, formulating policies to promote childbirth, vigorously developing integrated childcare services, and increasing the supply of inclusive childcare services all reflect the “investment in people” orientation.
The profound significance of issuing childcare subsidies lies in placing human development at the core of the economic and social system, shifting the focus from material accumulation to valuing human value. This policy is not only an emergency response to the challenges of population development, but also a strategic move to support Chinese path to modernization with high-quality population development.
Behind the 3600 yuan is the concrete practice of ‘putting people’s livelihood first’
“Chinese path to modernization, people’s livelihood is important.” In recent years, China’s governments at all levels have increased the pressure on fiscal balance, and the party and government organs have taken the lead in tightening the living standards. In this context, the implementation of the childcare subsidy system reflects the development concept of putting the people at the center, meets the new expectations of the people for a better life, and can be regarded as a remarkable “livelihood answer sheet”.
Not long ago, the General Office of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions on Further Ensuring and Improving People’s Livelihood and Focusing on Solving the Urgent, Difficult and Worried Problems of the Masses”, which proposed to “continuously improve support policies in key areas of people’s livelihood such as education, health, social security, employment, etc., and effectively safeguard the bottom line of people’s livelihood”, focusing on solving the most concerned, direct and realistic interests of the people in terms of people’s livelihood security.
Reducing the burden of child rearing in families is one of the focuses of livelihood policies. The survey found that most parenting families report facing significant economic pressure in raising their children. In recent years, China has introduced a series of measures to reduce the burden of family parenting from multiple aspects such as reproduction, nurturing, and education. For example, including children’s education and care for infants and young children under the age of 3 in the scope of personal income tax special additional deduction, continuously promoting the “double reduction” policy of education to alleviate family education anxiety, and developing inclusive childcare services to solve the problem of caring for parenting families, have been widely welcomed by parenting families.
The implementation of the childcare subsidy system is a timely rain to ensure and improve people’s livelihoods. We must adhere to the principles of stability, long-term sustainability, and continuity, continuously increasing efforts to ensure people’s livelihoods on the basis of economic development, and not making promises that are difficult to fulfill without financial resources. We should strive to benefit and alleviate the concerns of the people, fill the gaps in people’s livelihoods, promote social fairness and justice in development, and continuously enhance the sense of gain, happiness, and security of the people.
Behind the 3600 yuan is a true portrayal of ‘fertility friendly’
According to estimates, the economic value of caregiving in China accounts for about 25% of GDP, with women contributing nearly two-thirds of caregiving labor. Childcare subsidies are an important manifestation of respecting the economic value of caregiving labor. By providing childcare subsidies, the external economic effects of childcare labor and caregiving behavior have been internalized to a certain extent. The implementation of the childcare subsidy system is a positive response to the call of the masses to reduce the burden of raising children, and also a manifestation of respecting the social value of childbirth.
Fertility not only has direct costs, but also indirect costs and opportunity costs. The implementation of the childcare subsidy system is a practical measure to reduce the cost of childbirth, increase the motivation for childbirth, and alleviate worries, fully demonstrating the value orientation of “fertility friendly”. Our country will stimulate the willingness to have children, solve the problem of raising children, reduce the burden of raising children, promote the achievement of moderate fertility levels, maintain the advantages of population size and human resource endowment, assist in the transformation of economic momentum, and promote long-term economic growth by providing richer, more convenient, and more caring services.
Improving the policy system for supporting childbirth is an essential part of promoting the construction of a childbirth friendly society. The construction of a fertility friendly society mainly relies on good policies, society, market, and family environment, reducing the cost of fertility education, and forming a virtuous cycle of willingness to have, being able to have, being able to afford, and being well raised. In the long run, improving the reproductive capacity of families and striving to maintain a moderate level of fertility and population size are the fundamental goals of building a fertility friendly society. Meanwhile, improving the policy system for supporting childbirth is also an important measure to promote sustained economic recovery and improvement. Population is the driving force of economic growth and also the consumer of economic achievements. Improving the policy system for supporting childbirth is conducive to meeting the beautiful needs of the masses in family construction, pursuing a higher quality of life, and continuously unleashing the potential of domestic demand for economic growth.
Childbirth is a joyous occasion for the family and a major event for the country. We look forward to all regions and departments meeting the expectations of the people for a better life, closely integrating high-quality population development with high-quality people’s lives, and closely combining “investing in things” with “investing in people”. We will continue to improve and implement measures to support childbirth, accelerate the construction of a fertility friendly society, and use more refined and warm policy measures to support the diversified fertility needs of the masses, so that more people “want to have children, dare to have children, and can have children”.
(Source: People’s Daily Client)
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Post time: Aug-02-2025