China to offer free pre-school education from autumn
The announcement comes a week after China said it would offer parents the equivalent of US$500 (S$644.44) a year for each child under the age of three.
BEIJING - China said on Aug 5 it would introduce free pre-school education from the autumn, as the world's second most populous nation seeks to boost childbirth in the face of a looming demographic crisis.
China's population has
declined for three consecutive years , with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from around 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100.
There were just 9.54 million births in China in 2024, half the number in 2016, when Beijing ended its one-child policy after more than three decades.
The population declined by 1.39 million in 2024, and China lost its crown as the
world's most populous country to India in 2023.
Marriage rates are also at record low levels, with many young couples put off having babies by high child-rearing costs and career concerns.
On Aug 5, China's Cabinet, the State Council, announced: 'Starting in the fall semester of 2025, childcare and education fees will be waived for children attending public kindergartens in the year before school'.
The policy aims to 'effectively reduce the cost of education, improve the level of public education services, and provide education that satisfies the people', the State Council said.
Beijing described it as an 'important measure that concerns thousands upon thousands of households and relates to long-term development'.
Funding for the new measure would be shared between the central and local authorities, while children attending approved private kindergartens would also be eligible for fee reductions.
The announcement comes a week after the country said it would offer parents the equivalent of US$500 (S$644.44) per year for each child under the age of three.
At a news conference in Beijing last week, National Health Commission (NHC) official Wang Haidong acknowledged that the country had 'gradually shifted from a phase of population growth to a phase of population decline'.
'The childcare subsidy system can directly increase people's cash income,' Mr Guo Yanhong, vice-minister of the NHC, said.
Chinese leaders have in recent years struggled to breathe life into the economy, beset by a years-long property crisis that has spooked would-be homebuyers and dissuaded many people from having children.
China's shrinking population is also ageing fast, sparking worries about the future of the country's pension system.
There were nearly 310 million people aged 60 and over in 2024. AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
9 minutes ago
- Straits Times
UN experts call for GHF to be dismantled
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The UN rights office said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations. GENEVA - United Nations special rapporteurs called on Aug 5 for the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being 'exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas'. An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF's operations. The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages. 'The GHF... is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law,' the experts said in a joint statement. 'The entanglement of Israeli intelligence, US contractors and ambiguous non-governmental entities underlines the urgent need for robust international oversight and action under UN auspices. 'Calling it 'humanitarian' adds on to Israel's humanitarian camouflage and is an insult to the humanitarian enterprise and standards.' On July 22, the UN rights office said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations – nearly three-quarters of them in the vicinity of GHF sites. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore More train rides taken in first half-year, but overall public transport use stays below 2019 levels Singapore BlueSG needs time to develop software, refresh fleet, say ex-insiders after winding-down news Asia Cambodia-Thailand border clash a setback for Asean: Vivian Balakrishnan Asia Philippines, India shore up ties amid China tensions, US tariff risks Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim Singapore Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street Asia Trump's transactional foreign policy fuels 'US scepticism' in Taiwan Singapore Beauty industry consumers hit by 464% rise in prepayment losses in first half of 2025 'Without clear accountability, the very idea of humanitarian relief may ultimately become a casualty of modern hybrid warfare,' the special rapporteurs said. 'The credibility and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance must be restored by dismantling the GHF, holding it and its executives accountable, and allowing experienced and humanitarian actors from the UN and civil society alike to take back the reins of managing and distributing lifesaving aid.' The joint statement was signed by Ms Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Israel accuses her of having an 'obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimise the state of Israel'. The statement was also signed by 18 other special rapporteurs, plus other UN experts and members of UN working groups – a notably large number for such statements. Special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself. More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip. GHF says it has distributed more than 1.76 million boxes of foodstuffs to date. 'We continue to improve our operations,' GHF executive director John Acree said on Aug 4. 'We urge the international humanitarian community to join us – we have the scale and capacity to deliver more aid to the people of Gaza.' AFP
Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Russian drone strike on Ukrainian rail hub Lozova leaves two dead
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox View shows building of a railway station, damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Lozova, Kharkiv region, Ukraine August 5, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region/Handout via REUTERS LOZOVA, Ukraine - Russia carried out its largest attack on Lozova, a railway hub east of Ukraine, on Tuesday, with dozens of drone strikes that left two people dead and wounded 13 others, including two children, Ukrainian officials said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the attack involved 34 drones and damaged the train station and a nearby rail depot. It temporarily knocked out power to 80% of the town of around 50,000 in the Kharkiv region, which is connected by rail to strategic cities in Ukraine's east. "Critical infrastructure, apartment buildings and private homes have been damaged ... Lozova has endured the largest attack since the beginning of the war," Serhiy Zelenskiy, head of the town council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Rubble and debris littered the station, a stately Soviet-era building which was heavily damaged in the attack. "For Lozova it was a very unusual situation. Of course there have been strikes before, but nothing as big as what we had this evening," said local resident Oksana Samoilenko, 41. Some residents with cars had left the town earlier in the morning following the strike, she said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore More train rides taken in first half-year, but overall public transport use stays below 2019 levels Asia Philippines, India shore up ties amid China tensions, US tariff risks Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim Singapore Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street Asia Trump's transactional foreign policy fuels 'US scepticism' in Taiwan Singapore Beauty industry consumers hit by 464% rise in prepayment losses in first half of 2025 Singapore Over 5,900 vape products found in car at Woodlands Checkpoint Singapore 13 taken to hospital after accident involving SBS buses, car in Tampines State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said one of its employees was among the two people killed and four others wounded. Ukraine's air force said it had downed 29 of 46 drones launched by Russia across Ukraine overnight. One ballistic missile and 17 drones struck various locations, it said. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. REUTERS
Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump says he will meet China's Xi if a trade deal is struck
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. was close to a trade deal with China and that he would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before the end of the year if an agreement is struck. "He asked for a meeting, and I'll end up having a meeting before the end of the year most likely, if we make a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'm not going to have a meeting," Trump told CNBC in an interview referring to China's Xi. "We're getting very close to a deal. We're getting along with China very well," Trump said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week he believed the U.S. had the "makings of a deal" with China after officials from the two countries met in Stockholm in a bid to resolve economic disputes aimed at extending their truce on a trade war by three months. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the U.S. administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without a deal, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from U.S. duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. Speaking to CNBC, Trump also said his administration would soon impose tariffs on U.S. imports of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and chips, which is expected to impact China. REUTERS
