China will levy a value-added tax on contraceptive medications and equipment — including condoms — for the first time in three decades, its latest move to reverse declining birth rates that threaten to further stall its economy.
Under the recently updated Value-Added Tax Law, consumers would pay a 13% fee on commodities that have been VAT-exempt since 1993, when China implemented a rigorous one-child policy and actively promoted birth control.
Simultaneously, the modification creates additional incentives for potential parents by exempting elder care facilities, marriage-related services, disability service providers, and child care services, ranging from nurseries to kindergartens. The adjustments take effect in January.

They represent a broader governmental tilt, as a rapidly aging China turns from limiting births to pushing individuals to have more children. With only 9.54 million births in 2024—almost half of the 18.8 million registered nearly ten years earlier, when the one-child policy was lifted—the population has decreased for three years running.
Beijing has thrown out a variety of pro-natalist programs in response, from granting cash handouts to boosting childcare services and extending paternity and maternity leave. In stark contrast to the oppressive reproductive regulations of the one-child era, when abortions and sterilizations were regularly imposed, the nation has also set rules to limit the number of abortions that aren't judged "medically necessary."

China’s attempts to reverse its birth rate are running into a basic hurdle: China is one of the priciest countries in which to bring up kids, according to a 2024 analysis by the YuWa Population Research Institute in Beijing.
The expense of raising a child to the age of 18 is expected to be over 538,000 yuan ($76,000), a sum that many young adults find unacceptable given the weak economy and unpredictable employment market. Others are opting to prioritize their professions and stability above raising a family as societal standards change.
Still, authorities are increasingly focused on efforts aimed to influence social attitudes toward childbirth – even when the direct effects could be limited.“Removing the VAT exemption is largely symbolic and unlikely to have much impact on the bigger picture,” said He Yafu, a demographer with YuWa. Rather, "it reflects an effort to shape a social environment that reduces abortions and encourages childbirth."
‘Can’t Afford’
The VAT also coincides with a rapid rise in HIV, which has been declining globally, in China due to stigma and a lack of sex education. Most new cases of the sickness are linked to unprotected sex.
According to the nation's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of recorded HIV and AIDS cases increased from 0.37 per 100,000 persons in 2002 to 8.41 in 2021.“The extra cost quickly sparked debate on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, with some users worrying not just about the potential for unplanned pregnancy, but whether sexually transmitted diseases could spread more quickly if people were using fewer condoms.
“When considering the rising HIV infections among young people, raising prices like this might not be a good idea,” one user remarked. “It’s a poorly considered approach.”
Others ridiculed the tax as ineffectual, claiming that raising prices wouldn't significantly alter public perceptions of having children. “If someone can’t afford a condom, how could they afford raising a child?” one individual wondered.