Zhejiang district to offer subsidies for multiple-child families

Longwan District in the city of Wenzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province plans to offer child-raising subsidies for families with multiple kids, a local government website revealed on Monday.

As a reply to "a proposal on improving the supporting measures for the fertility policy for young people of appropriate age" put forward by a local CPPCC member at a political consultative session, the local health bureau said the district plans to provide a monthly subsidy of 500 yuan (US$74) for a family's second child and 1,000 yuan for a third child until they are three years old.

According to the 2021 Longwan District National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin, as of the end of 2021, the region had a registered population of 343,770 and a total of 87,548 households. The sex ratio of male to female was 106.6:100 (100 females), with 2,713 births and 1,598 deaths last year. The birth rate was 0.791 percent, the death rate 0.466 percent and the natural population growth rate 0.325 percent.

Chinese authorities eased the family planning policy last year, allowing every couple to have three children to curb the decline in fertility levels.

Many places around the country have introduced referential policies to help families with multiple children deal with expenses such as housing and education.

Last year, the city of Panzhihua in Sichuan Province became the first in the country to introduce cash subsidies that encourage families to have more than one child – a monthly allowance of 500 yuan for a family's second and third child until they are three years old.

Cities like Hangzhou and Nanchang also rolled out supportive policies, such as relaxing purchase restrictions and granting home purchase subsidies for multiple-child families.