Time and money for love: China brainstorms ways to boost birth rate

Concerned by China’s shrinking population, political advisors to the government have come up with over 20 recommendations to boost birth rates, though experts say the best they can do is to slow the population’s decline.

China dug itself into a demographic hole largely through its one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015. Authorities raised the limit to three in 2021, but even during the Covid times couples have been reluctant to have babies.

Young people cite high childcare and education costs, low incomes, a feeble social safety net and gender inequalities, as discouraging factors.

The proposals to boost the birth rate, made at the annual meeting of China’s People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) this month, range from subsidies for families raising their first child, rather than just the second and third, to expanding free public education and improving access to fertility treatments.

Experts praised a proposal to scrap all family planning measures, including the three children limit and the requirement for women to be legally married to register their children.

CPPCC proposals such as maternity leave paid by the government rather than the employer would help reduce discrimination against women, while increasing paternity leave removes a barrier for fathers in taking more parenting responsibilities, experts said.

Demographer Yi Fuxian remains sceptical whether any measures would have a significant impact by themselves.