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Beijing imposes a 13% levy on contraceptives while slashing childcare costs, a radical economic experiment to reverse a shrinking population that could ripple through global markets.

Starting today, the cost of intimacy in China has officially gone up, with Beijing betting that making contraceptives more expensive might just force a demographic U-turn. In a move that has sparked both ridicule and concern across the Asian giant, the government has effectively put a price tag on preventing pregnancy.
The world’s second-largest economy has introduced a 13% sales tax on contraceptives—including condoms and birth control pills—while simultaneously exempting childcare, marriage services, and elderly care from Value Added Tax (VAT). It is a stark reversal of the tax breaks that had been in place since 1994, a time when China was still aggressively enforcing its infamous one-child policy.
This fiscal overhaul is not merely about revenue; it is social engineering through the tax code. Faced with an ageing workforce and a sluggish economy, Beijing is scrambling to encourage young people to marry and procreate. Official figures paint a grim picture: China’s population has shrunk for three consecutive years.
Data indicates that only 9.54 million babies were born in 2024—roughly half the number recorded just a decade ago. For context, while Kenya’s population is booming with a median age of roughly 20, China is rapidly greying, creating a looming labor shortage that could impact everything from global manufacturing costs to the demand for Kenyan exports like tea and coffee.
The policy has been met with sharp skepticism on Chinese social media. Critics argue that a small hike in the price of condoms is negligible compared to the astronomical cost of raising a child in cities like Shanghai or Beijing. As one retailer urged shoppers to stock up before the price hike, netizens responded with dark humor.
"I'll buy a lifetime's worth of condoms now," one user joked on Weibo, while another noted dryly that people can easily "tell the difference between the price of a condom and that of raising a child."
Beyond the economics, health experts are sounding the alarm. There are genuine fears that discouraging contraceptive use could lead to a spike in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The move highlights the tension between state demographic goals and public health necessities.
"It would take a lot more than pricey condoms to persuade [us] to have children," noted one commentator, summarizing the mood of a generation facing high living costs and economic uncertainty.
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