China Aims to Stabilise Number of New Births with Policy Support

中国以政策支持稳定新出生人口规模

Zhōngguó yǐ zhèngcè zhīchí wěndìng xīn chūshēng rénkǒu guīmó

On October 23, 2026, China’s State Council pledged to “strive to stabilise the number of new births,” calling for a “birth-friendly society” with improved marriage, childbirth, parenting, and education policies, alongside tax, social security, and housing support for families. The move comes as experts push for higher and longer childcare subsidies, expanded free preschool education, and a family-based income tax system. Analysts say the challenge is not simply adding incentives, but turning fragmented measures into a coherent, full-life-cycle support system.

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Èr líng èr liù nián shí yuè èrshísān rì, Zhōngguó Guówùyuàn zǒnglǐ Lǐ Qiáng zhǔchí zhàokāi Guówùyuàn chángwù huìyì, yánjiū tǒngchóu rénkǒu yǔ jīngjì shèhuì fāzhǎn yǒuguān gōngzuò. Huìyì míngquè tíchū, yào jiākuài jiànshè shēngyù yǒuhǎo xíng shèhuì, chíxù wánshàn hūnjià, shēngyù, yǎngyù, jiàoyù děng zhèngcè, yōuhuà miànxiàng jiātíng de cáishuì, shèbǎo, zhùfáng děng zhīchí jǔcuò, nǔlì wěndìng xīn chūshēng rénkǒu guīmó. Zhè yī biǎoshù jiāng rénkǒu wèntí zhìyú jīngjì shèhuì fāzhǎn de jīchǔ wèizhì, biāozhìzhe zhèngcè zhòngxīn cóng dānchún de shùliàng guǎnlǐ zhuǎnxiàng yǐ jiātíng wéi zhōngxīn de xìtǒngxìng zhīchí.

2026年10月23日，中国国务院总理李强主持召开国务院常务会议，研究统筹人口与经济社会发展有关工作。会议明确提出，要加快建设生育友好型社会，持续完善婚嫁、生育、养育、教育等政策，优化面向家庭的财税、社保、住房等支持举措，努力稳定新出生人口规模。这一表述将人口问题置于经济社会发展的基础位置，标志着政策重心从单纯的数量管理转向以家庭为中心的系统性支持。

On October 23, 2026, Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council executive meeting to study work related to coordinating population and economic and social development. The meeting explicitly proposed accelerating the building of a birth-friendly society, continuously improving policies on marriage, childbirth, parenting, and education, and optimising family-oriented support measures in taxation, social security, and housing, so as to strive to stabilise the number of new births. This formulation places the population issue at the foundation of economic and social development, marking a shift in policy focus from simple numerical management to systematic, family-centred support.

Zhè yī zhèngcè fāngxiàng bìngfēi gūlì chūxiàn. Èr líng èr liù nián sān yuè fābù de “Shíwǔwǔ” guīhuà gāngyào cǎo'àn yǐjīng míngquè tíchū, yōuhuà shēngyù zhīchí zhèngcè hé jīlì cuòshī, yǒuxiào jiàngdī jiātíng shēngyù, yǎngyù, jiàoyù chéngběn, nǔlì wěndìng xīn chūshēng rénkǒu guīmó, cùjìn rénkǒu chángqī jūnhéng fāzhǎn. Zhè yìwèizhe wěndìng xīn chūshēng rénkǒu yǐ bèi nàrù zhōngchángqī fāzhǎn zhànlüè, ér fēi duǎnqī yìngjí cuòshī. Shí yuè de Guówùyuàn chángwù huìyì, shì zài zhè yī kuàngjià xià duì jùtǐ zhèngcè gōngjù de jìnyíbù bùshǔ.

这一政策方向并非孤立出现。2026年3月发布的“十五五”规划纲要草案已经明确提出，优化生育支持政策和激励措施，有效降低家庭生育、养育、教育成本，努力稳定新出生人口规模，促进人口长期均衡发展。这意味着稳定新出生人口已被纳入中长期发展战略，而非短期应急措施。10月的国务院常务会议，是在这一框架下对具体政策工具的进一步部署。

This policy direction did not emerge in isolation. The draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, released in March 2026, had already explicitly proposed optimising birth support policies and incentive measures, effectively reducing the costs of childbirth, parenting, and education for families, striving to stabilise the number of new births, and promoting long-term balanced population development. This means that stabilising new births has been incorporated into a medium- and long-term development strategy, rather than a short-term emergency measure. The October State Council meeting was a further deployment of specific policy tools under this framework.