In a monumental policy change, state media announced that China will allow couples to have up to three children from the current 2 children limit. The move came in the light of recent reports showed how birth rate has dramatically declined in China. According to the state-owned media Xinhua, the new policy was approved by the current sitting President Xi Jinping after he chaired a politburo meeting.
Background
In 2016, China allowed people to have two children. The move came in the view of certain projections that stated that by 2040, the population above the age of 65 or more will comprise of 24% of china. The numbers are double the India’s current share and slightly above than USA. These numbers posed a challenge to China to continue its economic domination whose foundation was built on the labour supply. In 2019, according to Bloomberg the country’s birth rate fell down to its lowest in almost 60 years.
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New policy takes place of 2-child policy
On Monday, the ruling communist party of the most populous country in the world announced that it will allow all the married couples in the country to have 3 children. This marked an end to the current 2-child policy that was aimed to increase the country’s declining birthrate.
The move is looked by the geo-political analysts as a move taken after taking into consideration the fact that higher number of older people could pose a threat to the country’s economy in future.
3-child policy will “improve country’s population structure”
The current ruling communist party of the country had a Politburo meeting on Monday. For the uninitiated, a Politburo is a governing committee in all communist countries that decide on which policy to pose and which to reject. According to the committee the new 3-child policy would, “improve our country’s population structure and help implement a national strategy to actively respond to the aging population.”
China’s child-limiting restrictions and its roots
China’s child-limiting restrictions can be traced back to the 80s when the country imposed a ‘1-child’ policy to curb the slow population growth and boost the economy. For the next 3 decades, the policy stayed in place.
However, in 2013, the country’s communist officials took in stock the consequences of the policy on the aging population and stated that the parents who were from 1-child families can have 2 children. This policy was later scrapped and China allowed all the people of the country to have 2 children in 2016.
2020 sees lowest number of births since Mao
In the past 4 years, the birth rate in China has fallen down drastically. 2020 was an alarming year as China saw the number of registered births as its lowest since era of Mao, the founder of People’s Republic of China.
The current fertility rate in China stands at 1.3 a sharp drop from the replacement rate 2.1. In its once-a-decade census it was found that in the last year only 12 million births were registered which was lowest since 1961.
Meanwhile, China also realized that the number young factory workers that powered their economy is also facing a steady decline. According to New York Times, in 2020, those above 60 in China were 264 million and attributed to 18.7 of its total population. By 2025, this number will grow to 300 million and 1/5th of the total population.
These numbers have triggered an alarm in the minds of the communist officials of the state. According to the state-owned media, the communist party also announced that the party will see more influx of capital required to serve the country’s individuals who retired. The Politburo during its announcement said that the new 3-child policy would “maintain our country’s advantages in human resource endowments.”
Despite the loosening of the rules in 2016, allowing two children per family, birth rates in China have continued falling (chart). The announcement of the 3-children policy does in fact highlight the concern in Beijing about the rapid ageing of the population | #OOTT #METL #OATT pic.twitter.com/3wsivE3xgI
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) May 31, 2021
State pledges to “protect the rights and interests of women employees”
During its announcement on Monday, the communist party of the state admitted that the country is facing the need for broader policy changes which would help people to have more children in an easier manner. The party also claimed that it will improve the state of maternity leaves and “protect the legitimate rights and interests of women in employment.”
For years China’s communist party-imposed restrictions enabled the local authorities to pose fines on those who had more than one child. Further, the authorities also forced millions of Chinese women to either sterilize themselves or undergo abortions.
According to China’s own census, the country’s population has grown by 5.38% in the last 10 years.
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