China promotes childbirth with free milk, childcare subsidies

HONG KONG: As local provinces work to boost the country's shrinking population, Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia in China, unveiled a plethora of childcare subsidies this month and pledged to "care" for new moms by providing them with a daily cup of free milk.

China’s state news agency, Xinhua on Monday said that more than 20 provincial level administrations in China had begun providing childcare subsidies. As authorities work to encourage young couples to marry and start a family, these incentives have become a major area of focus.

China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, as marriages plummeted by a fifth, the biggest drop on record.

The country is facing an unprecedented demographic downturn, a result largely of China's one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015, rapid urbanisation and the high cost of raising a family. Couples have been allowed to have as many as three children since 2021.

Earlier this month at the annual meeting of China's parliament, Premier Li Qiang announced childcare subsidies and free preschool education to try and boost the birth rate.

An action plan to boost domestic consumption released on Sunday said that authorities should "study and establish a childcare subsidy system".

Hohhot, a bustling northern city surrounded by verdant grasslands, said couples would receive a 10,000 yuan ($1,382.51)one-off payment for their first child, and 10,000 yuan a year for a second baby until the child reached the age of five.

A third child would receive an annual subsidy of 10,000 yuan until they turned 10, a total figure roughly twice the annual income of local residents.

Hohhot also issued what it called the "One cup of milk fertility care action for mothers" with a cup of milk available for free each day for any mothers who give birth after March 1.

They will also be entitled to an electronic voucher worth 3,000 yuan from two dairy companies Yili and China Mengniu Dairy.