Trip.com Group announced on Friday that from July 1, it will pay 50,000 yuan ($6,897.69) to employees for each child they have, the first such programme by a significant private company in China as the country struggles with an ageing population.
The company, one of the world’s largest online travel agencies, with 400 million customers, announced a parental financial subsidy of 10,000 yuan for each child born to its employees worldwide over a five-year period.
According to the company, the programme will cost approximately 1 billion yuan.
In a statement, Trip.com’s executive chairman, James Liang stated, “I have always suggested that the government give money to families with children, especially multiple children, to help more young people fulfil their desire to have multiple children”.
“Companies can also play a role within their own capabilities to build a favourable fertility atmosphere”, Liang added.
Following the implementation of a one-child policy from 1980 to 2015, demographers have warned that China would become old before it becomes affluent, as its workforce shrinks and indebted local governments spend more on their senior population.
Last year, China’s birth rate plummeted to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, down from 7.52 births in 2021, the lowest on record.
Authorities predicted that by 2021, couples may have up to three children, but even during the stay-at-home COVID years, couples were hesitant to have children.
High childcare and education costs, low income, a weak social safety net, and gender inequality, are cited as depressing aspects among young people.
This year, Liang, a demographer, wrote a book titled “Population Strategies: How Population Affects Economy and Innovation” and proposed that 2% of China’s GDP be allocated to encouraging fertility.
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