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A woman and her child have fun at a park in Zaozhuang, east China's Shandong Province, June 1, 2025. [Photo by Sun Zhongzhe/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- China's central budget will allocate 90 billion yuan (about 12.6 billion U.S. dollars) this year to support the issuance of childcare subsidies, the Ministry of Finance said Wednesday.

The fund, which is a transfer payment from the central budget, will assist local governments in issuing the subsidies, covering nearly 90 percent of the total amount distributed, ministry official Guo Yang told a press conference.

The move follows the country's recent introduction of a nationwide childcare subsidy program, which sets a standard of 3,600 yuan per year for each child under the age of three, and is expected to benefit more than 20 million families each year.

The finance and healthcare departments are actively advancing the calculation and distribution of the fund, Guo said, emphasizing that through comprehensive oversight, every penny will safely reach those eligible for the support.

According to Wang Haidong, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC), childcare subsidy applications will be gradually rolled out across China in late August, with full access expected by Aug. 31.

EASY ACCESS TO CHILDCARE SUBSIDIES

The subsidy can be applied for online through a unified national information system, allowing everyone to submit applications without leaving home, while offline channels and in-person services will also be in place, Wang said at the press conference.

Those who are unable to apply online due to special circumstances can do so by going to the township or subdistrict office where the infant is registered, he added.

Measures have been introduced to make the application process easier. Applicants, notably, only need to submit essential materials that verify the infant's identity and caregiving relationship -- such as the birth certificate and household registration book.

A wide range of application channels will also be available, including provincial-level government service platforms and third-party platforms such as Alipay and WeChat, which are all commonly used and can be conveniently accessed online using mobile phones, Wang said.

Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the NHC, said the subsidy is available to all eligible children, regardless of whether they live in urban or rural areas, their ethnicity or region, or whether they are the first, second, or third child in the family.

She noted that the subsidy standard was set based on factors such as childcare costs and fiscal capacity, while also drawing on international practices, as direct financial support is a common policy tool to encourage childbirth globally. In China, some local governments have piloted similar programs, which have been well-received by the public.

EXPANDING BIRTH-FRIENDLY POLICIES

According to Liu Hongmei at the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, China has intensified efforts to protect the maternity rights of working women.

At the press conference, Liu said that from 2022 to 2024, the organization allocated 22.5 million yuan in employer subsidies to expand workplace childcare, making these services more accessible and affordable for working parents.

Trade unions nationwide are encouraged to foster family-friendly workplaces through multiple measures, such as providing breastfeeding rooms for female employees, the official said.

Liu Juan, an official of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said that a total of 253 million people were covered by China's maternity insurance by June 2025, including rising numbers of flexible employees and migrant workers.

Since 2021, the country's maternity insurance benefits have been accessed 96.14 million times, with cumulative fund expenditure totaling 438.3 billion yuan, she added.

Notably, assisted reproductive services are now covered by medical insurance across 31 provincial-level regions and in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and painless delivery services are also covered in certain regions, according to Liu.