China’s Plunging Birth Rate Is a Crisis of Belief

China’s Plunging Birth Rate Is a Crisis of Belief

New subsidies aren’t selling young people on the future.

A man holding a baby walks along a street in Shanghai's Xuhui district. September 18, 2025, 3:32 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )

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This article was published in collaboration with ChinaFile , a project run by the Asia Society .

On Sept. 8, China began accepting applications for its nationwide child care subsidy , retroactive to Jan. 1, a flagship policy in its bid to reverse a record-low birth rate . Earlier, in August, the State Council announced that the government would pay for children’s last year of preschool. In recent years, the government has offered tax breaks , housing incentives , and fertilit