(Yicai Global) Jan. 12 -- Shenzhen, a tech hub in China’s southern Guangdong province, plans to offer as much as CNY37,500 (USD5,540) to couples to boost the city’s birthrate.

Shenzhen proposes to make a one-time payment of CNY3,000 (USD444) for a first child, CNY5,000 for a second, and CNY10,000 (USD1,480) for a third, its health authority said on Jan. 10. Couples would also get CNY1,500, CNY2,000, and CNY3,000 in annual child care allowance for the first three years for their first, second, and third child, respectively.

The city is now soliciting public opinion on the proposed new measures.

China’s newborn population was 15.2 million in 2018 and dropped on a yearly basis to 10.6 million in 2021, with the total fertility rate, or number of births per woman, declining to 1.16.

Childbirth subsidies can help ease the cost of raising a family of one or more children and help form a positive and encouraging policy guidance, said Liu Muyun, a contributing researcher at the China Development Institute Shenzhen.

Young people get married later and are less inclined to want children because of the immense economic pressure they face with work, childbirth, childcare, and children’s education, Liu added.

Apart from subsidies, local authorities should also enhance public facilities, such as nurseries and those for healthcare and education, to create an environment that is more conducive to the raising of children, she noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione