Local governments across China are increasingly subsidizing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technologies. This is an effort to slow the country’s deepening demographic decline. Cities and provinces, including Jingmen, Tianmen and Panzhihua, are offering cash incentives to offset the high costs of fertility treatments. A reflection of a growing sense of urgency as China’s population continues to shrink for a third consecutive year.
However, experts argue that these policies misunderstand the root of China’s fertility crisis. While infertility affects an estimated 12 to 15 per cent of couples, the primary deterrent to having children is economic pressure, not biological inability. IVF subsidies, critics say, target a narrow segment of the population and do little to address broader concerns over housing costs, childcare expenses and job insecurity. With IVF treatments costing between 30,000 and 150,000 yuan, even generous local subsidies cover only a fraction of the financial burden.
However, experts argue that these policies misunderstand the root of China’s fertility crisis. While infertility affects an estimated 12 to 15 per cent of couples, the primary deterrent to having children is economic pressure, not biological inability. IVF subsidies, critics say, target a narrow segment of the population and do little to address broader concerns over housing costs, childcare expenses and job insecurity. With IVF treatments costing between 30,000 and 150,000 yuan, even generous local subsidies cover only a fraction of the financial burden.
Demographers caution that assisted reproduction, which accounts for roughly 3 per cent of annual births, cannot compensate for declining birth intentions nationwide. The slight rise in births in 2024 is widely viewed as temporary, driven by cultural factors such as the Year of the Dragon rather than structural change, as deaths continue to outnumber newborns.
A Systemic Reform
comprehensive solutions. Proposals include removing birth limits entirely, dramatically expanding childcare subsidies and making early education free. The central government has begun to move in this direction, announcing broader insurance coverage for childbirth costs and launching a national childcare subsidy scheme. Several provinces are also expanding parental leave and affordable childcare services.
Taken together, while fertility-treatment subsidies signal policy experimentation and urgency, they remain a partial and potentially misplaced response to a demographic challenge rooted in the high cost of raising children rather than in reproductive capacity alone.
Reference
Sun, L. (2025, December 15). China’s fertility push: IVF grants grow, but high costs still deter couples. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3336505/chinas-fertility-push-ivf-grants-grow-high-costs-still-deter-couples?module=top_story&pgtype=subsection