China offers parents $500 a year in bid to boost births
The scheme, which was announced on Monday, will offer parents a total of up to 10,800 yuan per child.The policy will be applied retroactively from the start of this year, Beijing's state broadcaster CCTV said.Families with children born between 2022 and 2024 can also apply for partial subsidies.The move follows efforts by local governments to boost birth rates in the country of 1.4 billion people.In March, Hohhot - a city in the northern region of China - started offering residents up to 100,000 yuan per baby for couples with at least three children.Raising a child to the age of 17 in China costs an average of $75,700, according to a study by China-based YuWa Population Research Institute.The country is among the world's most expensive places to have children, in relative terms, the study found.In January, official figures showed that China's population fell for a third year in a row in 2024.The country's shrinking population is also ageing fast, adding to Beijing's demographic concerns.
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