China will struggle to deliver free preschool education

Delivering Premier Li Qiang’s promise of free preschool programs – revealed in this year’s Government Work Report – will be challenging.

• That’s according to a report published by experts at Peking University, on March 6th.

The good news: Over 90% of Chinese kiddos aged 3-5 went to kindergarten in 2023 – a massive increase since 2009, when just over half attended.

• Preschool attendance correlates favorably with literacy, numeracy, and college attendance, all crucial to long term productivity and innovation goals.

The bad news: Chinese households cover over half of preschool costs.

• On average, that’s RMB 8,220 annually per child – though costs vary widely between regions.
• Poorer regions have fewer public preschools and lower subsidies, making the burden on families even heavier. This exacerbates regional inequalities.

Central funding is also severely lacking:

• The central government covers just 11% of preschool costs – lagging wildly behind OECD countries, where central governments pick up almost 50%.

Get smart: Making preschool education free would lift a massive burden off household balance sheets, freeing them up to spend.

• But for most cash-strapped localities, funding preschool education is out of the question.

The bigger picture: Both the 2024 Preschool Education Law and 2025 education reforms promise to expand free access to early childhood education.

• That greatly increases the odds that policymakers will ramp up central government funding soon.