Are businesses ready for Gen Z parents?

This report from this week’s release from the CNBC’s Connection newsletter, which brings you visions and analyzes about what pays the second largest economy in the world. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Hi, I am Pao, a reporter in Singapore, who writes about the economy and his Chinese business, and fills Evelyn this week. Welcome to another version of Connection China.

This week, see how companies looking for a 644 billion dollar care market in China meet a new generation of parents-which are formed through the values of paternity, modern motherhood and spending habits.

The child and maternity care market was estimated at 4.63 trillion yuan (about 645 billion dollars) In 2025, about 7 % represents an annual growth rate, according to the industry A report from Iresearch in February.

Initial support from Beijing incentive in childcare and maternity products is likely to be seen before expanding areas such as children’s health care, early childhood education, insurance products specifically designed for minors, and technological services designed to support family life.

Think about children’s vehicles and formula today, but pre-kinder [such as coding apps] “The applications of smart and smart motherhood,” said Han Shin Lin, the director of the Shanghai Rural China Company at Asia’s Business Consulting Company.

A claim and selective

Parents have also become more selective and requested when it comes to what they buy.

Before adhering to a product, younger Chinese fathers tend to spend more time comparing options, check details and search for peer reviews via the Internet, said Andy Lee, the manager at Oliver and Iman in Shanghai. “The new parents have become more distinctive.”

This has sparked the brand bar because it is no longer enough to provide quality, companies must also clarify the reason for the appearance of their products.

“How to distinguish between your suggestion, your products against other players on the market were a great challenge,” he told me, noting that giving parents more transparency in what they buy, especially when it comes to nutritional ingredients, will lead to purchase first, and ensure that the brand is kept and loyalty.

This increased awareness of long-term fears about the safety of products in China-is a case that resonates with Chinese parents over nearly two decades of infant formula scandal in 2008.

“For middle -class families who are still inhabited by the children’s formula scandal in 2008, many continue to choose foreign brands,” said Yaling Jiang, an independent consumer -based consumer analyst.

In a sign of the speedy transformation of public feelings, driven by fathers who enjoy cunning in technology, some local brands of small care raised prices days after new family subsidies were offered, which led to a rapid violent reaction to social media.

The price of one brand of children’s napkins from 39 yuan jumped on July 31 to 119 yuan on August 1, according to Manmanmi, a tracker of e -commerce prices, while the price of local formula powder jumped over 50 % in days.

Young parents accused the companies of “tearing the benefits” before the money arrived, with some inviting the provinces. numerous Trademarks have been apologized since thenDescription of increases as periodic modifications.

But this violent reaction highlights the transformation of generations: the parents of the Gen-Z are paid at the value, with social media and are fast to call the brands that they think crosses the line.

Beijing pushed

In the first for the country, China launched last month a Program to support children’s education in the countryDistributing 3600 yuan ($ 503) annually per child under the age of three. This was the first time that Beijing has extended such support for the virgin child, with previous measures targeting couples with the second or third child.

The government is betting on support to reduce financial pressure from parenthood and mothers and alleviate what you call “fertility fears” for young couples.

Separately, Beijing announced on Tuesday that the tuition fees for children in their last year have announced The pre -school and some special kindergarten kindergartenStarting as soon as the next fall season.

The measures are complementing China’s efforts to reduce the costs of caring for children while the country is staring at a demographic crisis, fueled by a segment of birth rates.

China witnessed three Successful years of declining populationAnd Seven consecutive years Low birth rate, with a A modest recovery in 2024. Silent birth rates also stem from a disturbing decrease in marriage rates, which decreased to the lowest level in nearly half a century of last year with only with only 6.1 million new pairs.

The births decreased to 9.7 million last year-more than half of 18.8 million in 2016 when China canceled its one policy that restricts the size of families-according to estimates of the Economic Intelligence Unit based on official data, while the fertility rate is just 1.0.

The fertility rate indicates the average number of children that women will get in their life.

In recent years, China has raised its birth share to three for every couple, and provided tax exemptions for child care and moved to curbing the costs of lessons after school. Local officials tested bolder incentives, than 10,000 rewards first player In the inner Mongolia Monthly salaries for large families In Shomeang.

But experts say that financial incentives alone are not sufficient to change minds, especially among educated women in urban cities, who have continued to face difficult options between job progress, the high cost of child care and elderly care.

The generation of the Millennium and General ZS is part of the so -called “gel of sandwiches”, and is required to take care of the elderly parents and young children. “When you still have the elderly fathers to support them because there is no support system in particular, so much of your income ascends there, instead of starting your family,” said Harry Murphy Cruz, head of economic research in Oxford Economic.

The cost of raising a child to 18 percent to the per capita GDP is about 6.3 times in China compared to 4.11 times in the United States, according to Research in population of thought research.

Lynn told the Asian group:

Jiang said: “For highly educated women, the millennial and General Z, who had no children, there is an increasing awareness of the mental and physical burdens that come with marriage and childbirth,” Jiang said.

She pointed out that the support of 3,600 yuan covers only about 10 cans (800 to 900 grams each) of the infant formula.

At the present time, Beijing’s bet is that a little additional money in the parents ’pocket-and the spending caused-may give at least the birth rates in the country a short-term batch, even if a child’s mutation is not produced.

BYD China published its first decline in monthly delivery. In July, the pioneering Chinese EV maker 341,030 units shippingAbout 10 % less than 377628 in June. Li Auto and NIO were also a decrease in delivery operations.

NVIDIA denies accusing China that its chips have a “killing key.” The Electronic Space Administration of China said last week that it needs NVIDIA to submit documents on what it had been launched The weaknesses of the H20 chip of the company’s artificial intelligenceAnd that targets the Chinese market.

Models of Chinese text to the video of artificial intelligence tops the results panels. Tiktok Parentance by TEDANCE Holding first and third stains In the research company Artificial analysisAI models from the upper text to the video, while it is based in Beijing Kwisho Kling AI ranks fifth.

– Yeo box ping

China’s main mainland CSI 300 It rose 0.18 %, while Hong Kong Hang Singh Fahress – Which includes major Chinese companies – gained 0.17 % from 12:19 pm local time (12:19 am EST). Data from LSEG showed that the main righteous standard increases by 4.28 % so far.

– Lee Ying Chan