China population: City dangles free high school education for third child amid birth rate crisis

A local government in eastern China is controversially offering free high school education for the third child in a family, as authorities roll out a variety of incentives for couples to have babies amid a record-low birth rate.

After relaxing its one-child policy in January 2016, China introduced a three-child policy in May 2021 in response to the country’s declining birth rate, which is expected to weigh significantly on the country’s economy in decades ahead.