In response to the results of the 2020 census, China introduced a three-child policy in May 2021 after Chinese mothers gave birth to just 12 million babies in 2020.
China’s one-child policy was rolled out in 1980 and was strictly enforced with various punishments before being replaced by a two-child policy in January 2016 and a three-child policy in May 2021.
China Macro Economy
Opinion
Zhou Xin
China population: three-child policy shows Beijing’s desperation to boost births, but it’s no silver bullet
China has announced it will allow each couple to have three children in a major policy overhaul aimed at boosting its declining fertility rate
But taken alone, the new initiative will have limited effect because China’s falling fertility rate is due to a host of social and economic factors
The seventh national census of China shows the aging population in the country is creating a policy challenge that requires covering the cost of elder care while ensuring continued prosperity for everyone else, according to a report in Voice of America (VOA). China s overall population in the past decade grew at the slowest pace since the first modern census in 1953. This came even though the one-child policy was abolished in 2016. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in about 25 years, one-third of China s population will be retirees, and their living and health care expenses will take up one-fourth of the country s Gross domestic product (GDP).
China population: Beijing faces ‘tricky’ reforms to unleash new drivers of growth as workforce ages
China’s working-age population will remain large in the near term, giving the nation time to boost efficiency as its labour force grows older
But over time, Beijing must reform birth restrictions and provide better child care support to incentivize couples to have children, analysts say