WorlPosted at: Aug 21 2021 2:59PM To overcome ageing population, China approves three-child policy norm
Beijing, Aug 21 (UNI) With fertility rates dropping and the greying population increasing, China has approved a three-child norm, in a major policy shift.
The China Daily said a law amendment that allows couples in China to have three children was passed by the top legislature on Friday and takes effect immediately.
The move follows the fertility rate in 2020 having dropped to 1.3 per woman and the greying population increasing.
According to a report, China's elderly population is on pace to surpass the total population of the United States in 15 years. The nation’s senior citizens, defined as those aged 60 and above – the threshold for male workers to claim pensions – will rise to 300 million in four years, up from 254 million in 2019, according to an estimate.
The greying population is expected to jump to 400 million by 2033 and peak at 487 million by 2053.
Besides having the largest population in the world, China also has the fastest ageing population. This is mostly due to the decades of falling birth rate on the one hand, and steeply rising life expectancy on the other. The ageing population could pose a major challenge to the Chinese society and economy in the future.
According to China Daily, the law provides for supportive measures by government agencies to encourage couples to have more babies, like lowering the costs of education, enhancing nursery care services and protecting women's workplace rights.
According to the amended law, Beijing’s earlier decision to charge social maintenance fees on families who have more children than stipulated will be cancelled, as well as other rules that go against the new third-child norm.
The revised Population and Family Planning Law adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress was submitted to the country’s top legislature for its first reading on Tuesday. Beijing had announced a decision on May 31 to allow couples to have three children, up from two previously.
The policy shift addresses the challenges of a greying populace and declining fertility rates.
According to the latest national census, the proportion of those aged 60 and above rose to 18.7 percent last year, while the fertility rate in 2020 dropped to 1.3 children per woman.
Zhang Guilong, an official from NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, said on Friday that prompt revisions made to the law are aimed at ensuring that the new policy can be implemented as soon as possible, and progress made toward achieving balanced population development.
One of the core new revisions is to officially legalise the third-child policy in the Population and Family Planning Law, he added.
The government will take measures, including in the field of finance, tax, insurance, education, housing and employment, to lower the costs of raising and educating children, the amended law stated.
The revised law also stipulates a push for establishing affordable, government-subsidized nursery care service systems, and setting up child care facilities in public spaces and workplaces.
Zhang said rising costs for raising children have become a primary hindrance to people's fertility choices. The new provisions address the major concerns of the people on having more babies, and lays down rules for all levels of the government to improve public services.
To address concerns that the third-child policy will likely deepen gender discrimination against working women, the law states that women's right to employment will be guaranteed and employment services will be provided for those whose job prospects are affected due to pregnancies.
The law also for the first time includes a provision addressing parental leave, making it clear that support will be given to those taking leave for parenting.
It added that hospitals should launch awareness campaigns on promoting reproductive health and providing services in this respect.
China introduced its one-child policy in the late 1970s in an effort to slow a surge in its population. The country had doubled in size from more than 500 million people in the 1940s to over 1 billion by the 1980s, according to official figures.
Over the next 40 years, the population grew by only 40% — to 1.4 billion.
Despite a change in 2016 allowing families to have two children, births dropped for a fourth-straight year in 2020, and fell by 15% to 10 million, according to reports.
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