The Chinese government is rolling out a series of low-birthrate measures focused on reducing childbirth and childrearing costs. Following the nationwide child allowance introduced last year, starting this year it will make medical costs for childbirth free and tighten oversight of kindergarten fees.

According to Pengpai News and other outlets, China will implement ‘zero out-of-pocket childbirth costs’ from this year. The plan is to cover all expenses related to childbirth, from prenatal checkups and delivery to postpartum care and discharge, through public medical insurance, namely maternity insurance, and related funds, reducing personal payment to zero. The coverage of maternity insurance will be expanded to include platform workers, migrant workers, and those in special forms of employment.

The government also plans to extend insurance coverage to analgesia during labor, strengthen insurance oversight of assisted reproductive technologies, and pay maternity benefits directly across the board.

Oversight of kindergarten fees will also be tightened. Tuition at public kindergartens and non-profit private kindergartens must follow government guidelines. Fees at for-profit private kindergartens will be left to the market. Charging extra tuition beyond official instruction and care fees under labels such as ‘elementary school preparatory classes’ or ‘after-school special activities’, or collecting donations from parents, is prohibited.

Kindergarten tuition in China, meaning education and care fees, is about 1,000~2,000 yuan per month at public kindergartens (about 190,000∼380,000 KRW), and private kindergartens charge more. Meal fees, school bus operating fees, and after-school education costs are added on top. China plans to raise the share of public kindergarten pupils to above 90 percent and to advance phased free kindergarten education.

Last year, China implemented a plan to pay a child allowance of 3,600 yuan per year to families with a child aged 3 (about 700,000 KRW). The age range and amount for the child allowance are also expected to be expanded in stages.

Over the past three years, the fertility rate in China has been below half of the ‘2.1’ required for population replacement. The number of annual births has remained under 10 million for three consecutive years from 2022 to last year, and the total population has also fallen for three straight years. In response, the authorities are unveiling a range of measures to raise the birthrate.

Some policies are being criticized as forced measures on low birthrates. Beginning this year, a 13 percent value-added tax is imposed on contraceptive devices and oral contraceptives. Critics warn of a risk of spreading sexually transmitted diseases and denounce the move as punitive.

Authorities are also cracking down on online content that spreads negative views of marriage and childbirth. Public opinion encouraging feminism had been a main target, and since last year, complaints voiced from a male perspective have also become targets of internet cleansing campaigns. When online influencer Zhou Ruifeng gained popularity by asserting that “Chinese men are under lifelong pressure that they must ‘have children to carry on the family line,’ yet socioeconomic difficulties lead to sexual repression and failure to fulfill this role, triggering mental problems,” his account was suspended.

Amid this climate, videos made with artificial intelligence (AI) that mock unmarried women are spreading on short-form platforms. The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese parents are sharing AI videos in which a disheveled middle-aged woman cries and says, “Mom, Dad, I regret not getting married. I even have to go to the hospital alone,” and “When I was young I thought freedom was good,” to pressure their children.