What supportive policies did China promise when it adopted the three-child policy?

When the Chinese government transitioned to the three-child policy in 2021, it acknowledged that previous efforts to increase birth rates—such as the move to a two-child policy in 2016—had been hindered by concerns regarding the costs of raising children, career impacts, and limited childcare availability.1

To address these social and economic barriers, the government promised to enact supportive policy changes in the following areas:

• Employment: Implementing measures to protect the professional interests of parents.1
• Finance: Providing economic support to reduce the financial burden on families.1
• Childcare: Expanding access to and availability of childcare services.1
• Education: Improving educational support systems to assist families.1

These initiatives were designed to mitigate the factors that had previously caused couples to hesitate in expanding their families, aiming to counter the demographic and economic challenges posed by an aging population and a shrinking workforce.12