31 provincias revelan fondos de subsidio central para cuidado infantil: Guangdong, Henan y Sichuan en los primeros lugares

China implemented a childcare subsidy scheme for the first time last year, providing fiscal subsidies at a rate of 300 yuan per month for infants and young children under the age of 3. Of this fiscal funding, about 90% comes from the central government, and the central fiscal childcare subsidy assistance funds received by 31 provinces last year were disclosed to the public for the first time.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance disclosed the 2026 central government budget. In the 《Regional breakdown of some transfer payment projects table》 (hereinafter referred to as the 《Table》), it disclosed for the first time the scale of last year’s central childcare subsidy assistance funds for 31 provinces, as well as the budget amount for this year.

According to the above-mentioned 《Table》, the total scale of central government childcare subsidy assistance funds in 2025 was 90.358 billion yuan, of which Guangdong received 9.058 billion yuan, ranking first among all provinces. Henan received 7.281 billion yuan, followed closely by Sichuan, which received 6.84 billion yuan, ranking third. Shandong received 5.569 billion yuan, ranking fourth.

Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Hunan, and Yunnan received central childcare subsidy assistance funds with a scale between 4 billion and 5 billion yuan. The scale of this funding received by Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hubei was between 3 billion and 4 billion yuan, and the scale of this funding received by other localities was below 3 billion yuan (see the table below).

The table above is from the Ministry of Finance

The scale of central government childcare subsidy assistance funds that each locality receives mainly depends on two factors: one is the number of infants and young children under 3 years old who meet the subsidy issuance standards, and the other is the central government subsidy standard.

Generally speaking, the larger the population of infants and young children under 3 years old, the larger the scale of the central government childcare subsidy funds received. For example, Guangdong is China’s first populous province and has been the top province in first births for 7 consecutive years. For instance, in 2024, the number of births in Guangdong reached 1.13 million, making it the only province in the country with over 1 million births.

In addition, the 《Implementation Plan for the Childcare Subsidy System》 clearly states that the central government will provide the funding required to issue the national basic childcare subsidy standard, and will subsidize the eastern, central, and western regions on a proportional basis. Some experts believe that this central government subsidy ratio may follow the eastern, central, and western regions at 85%, 90%, and 95% respectively. Therefore, the higher the proportion of central government subsidies a province receives, the larger the scale of central government childcare subsidy funds it will correspondingly receive.

Of course, localities also need to bear part of the childcare subsidy funding. According to data previously disclosed by the Ministry of Finance, in general, the central government bears about 90% and local governments about 10%. For the 10% borne by localities, the sharing proportions among provinces, cities, and counties are also determined according to local circumstances.

According to the above-mentioned 《Table》 from the Ministry of Finance, the 2026 budget for childcare subsidy assistance funds was 99.93 billion yuan, of which 84.39 billion yuan had been allocated to regions, and 15.54 billion yuan had not yet been allocated to regions. This is because the remaining funds will be calculated and allocated based on the 2026 childcare subsidy application and claim situation.

Judging from the distribution of the 84.39 billion yuan childcare subsidy assistance funds for 31 provinces already allocated in 2026, Guangdong, Henan, and Sichuan still remain in the top three in terms of the scale of funding received.

The 《Table》 lists the performance targets for the 2026 childcare subsidy assistance funds: the actual issuance rate of childcare subsidies to eligible applicants is ≥90%; the frequency of childcare subsidy issuance is ≥1 time per quarter; the national basic childcare subsidy standard is 3600 yuan per person per year; the policy awareness rate is ≥90%; promote lowering the costs of having and raising children for families and build a child-friendly society; and the satisfaction of childcare subsidy recipients is ≥90%.

The 2026 childcare subsidies have been fully opened for applications. Lei Haichao, Director of the National Health Commission, said at the March 7 press conference on people’s livelihood topics during the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress that, as of now, childcare subsidies have been issued to more than 33 million infants and young children, and central and local government investment in childcare subsidies has already exceeded 100 billion yuan.

(El artículo proviene de Caixin Primera)