MK sports Korea southwest China's Guizhou Province. Photo:Xinhua" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-27/05d28302-603d-414a-be8e-9250b08fa8c7.jpeg" />

Nurses take care of newborn babies at a hospital in Zunyi, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Photo:Xinhua

Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province, have proposed to explore a childbirth subsidy system and optimize comprehensive childbirth support measures to promote high-quality population development. An expert noted that these policies are currently being explored through a "whole-chain" approach that covers various sectors, including economic, time and service-related support.

According to a notice issued by the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission on Wednesday, Shanghai will enhance childbirth support policies, collaborating with relevant departments to develop and implement a childbirth subsidy system. The city will strengthen monitoring of birth populations, improve monitoring systems and information-sharing mechanisms, and comprehensively promote healthy family initiatives focused on "fertility guidance, optimal childbirth and child-rearing, and reproductive health."

More efforts will be made to create a supportive atmosphere for families in terms of childbirth and child-rearing. The construction of maternal and infant facilities will be expanded based on demand, enhancing standardized management and services for maternal and infant facilities, the health commission said.

In Guangzhou, the births among the permanent population have increased by over 20 percent year-on-year in 2024, according to a health work conference for 2025 held on Tuesday, Guangzhou Daily reported. 

Guangzhou will improve its childbirth support policy system, explore childbirth subsidies and expand access to affordable childcare facilities in the city's streets and townships, as well as ensure that all public general hospitals at the secondary level and above provide pediatric services, according to the report.

In East China's Jiangsu Province, officials announced 15 measures to support the establishment of a family friendly society on February 20. Jiangsu encourages localities with the necessary conditions to increase subsidies for families with two or three children, based on the effective implementation of the national childbirth subsidy system, according to the provincial government.

Various regions in China have been exploring financial incentives to support childbirth. According to China's National Health Commission, 23 provincial-level regions have introduced and implemented childbirth subsidy systems at various levels, and over 20 provincial-level regions have incorporated assisted reproductive medical services into their health insurance coverage.

For instance, Harbin, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has provided families with monthly childcare subsidies of 500 yuan ($68.87) for a second child and 1,000 yuan for a third child.

The childbirth subsidy system currently being explored in various regions encompasses a comprehensive range of policies, including housing, marriage and childcare in a "whole-chain" approach, rather than being merely economic assistance, Jiang Quanbao, a professor from the Institute for Population and Development Studies at Xi'an Jiaotong University, told the Global Times, on Thursday.

"The childbirth support policy system is a comprehensive initiative that includes various aspects such as economic, time and service-related support." For instance, economic measures include one-time childbirth subsidies and tax reductions based on the number of children in the family, Jiang said.

"Future policies may further enhance these efforts, with specific measures, expanding the scope of assisted reproductive medical services into health insurance coverage, and improving the quality and affordability of childcare institutions," said Jiang.

Additionally, further efforts can still be made in alleviating educational anxiety and supporting newlyweds, among other areas, said Jiang.