The Chinese government continues to devise ways to encourage the population to have more children.
State media published on Tuesday a plan of government measures with which Beijing aims to raise the country's low birth rate, which fell to a record low last year.
Although China allows up to three children from May 2021, the most populous nation on the planet is facing a serious demographic crisis, with experts predicting that it will experience negative growth before 2025. In order to reverse this trend, 17 government departments issued jointly a document in which new preferential policies for access to housing, greater labor flexibility or tax aid and education are proposed with the aim of "creating an environment favorable to marriage and fertility".
A total of 17 ministries of the State Council (Chinese Executive) jointly unveiled a new roadmap in July to support marriage and make it easier for couples to have up to three children.
The document, made public on Tuesday by state media, asks local governments to present a complete package of support measures – which include fields such as taxes, insurance, education, housing and employment – to encourage the birth rate.
Analysts quoted by the
Global Times
newspaper , owned by the Communist Party and nationalist, point out that it is not common for so many cabinets to publish a plan of these characteristics, "which highlights the seriousness of the rate of growth of the Chinese population."
Official figures show that in 2020 the country's total population increased by 480,000 people, the lowest growth rate in the last six decades.
At least 11 of China's 31 regions and provinces already experienced negative population growth last year, especially in the northeast, northwest and center of the nation.
One of the objectives set out in the document is to reduce the number of abortions that are not due to "medical necessity."
In September of last year, the Council of State already set itself the goal of reducing the number of terminations of pregnancy that are not performed for health reasons, although, as now, no further details have been offered in this regard.
The text is limited to recommending improving prenatal and postnatal health care services and optimizing women's reproductive health.
Likewise, it advises developing more projects for the relief of childbirth pain and the improvement of the prevention and treatment of infertility in men and women.
Among the incentives to convince to bring more children into the world are housing assistance policies and tax benefits.
According to the state chain CGTN, the authorities will be able to offer more subsidized houses for young people residing in urban centers and give priority access to married couples with minor children.
In addition, those couples with more than one child and who are not owners will be able to withdraw a higher percentage of the money accumulated in the Social Security Housing Fund for rent - Chinese workers and employers are obliged to pay part of the monthly taxes to a Fund designed for the purchase of a future home.
In addition, tax exemptions will be offered to couples who have children under three years of age, in addition to those existing for those who have descendants of school age.
The document also addresses child care.
Flexible hours in the work environment and the possibility of working from home for employees with children will be encouraged.
In addition, an improvement in maternity leave and insurance is requested, and employers are encouraged to help their staff with the payment of childcare and include child-related stipends in contracts.
In a press conference held on Wednesday, Hao Fuqing, deputy director of the social development department of the National Development and Reform Commission, emphasized that the lack of public kindergartens in cities is one of the obstacles that couples face in deciding to have sons.
Although the number of births increased immediately after the elimination of the one-child policy (1980-2016), the trend has taken a downward path again in recent years.
A 2021 survey by the National Health Commission shows that women of childbearing age have “little will” to have children: “The average number of children they want to have is 1.64;
in 2017, it was 1.76 and in 2019, 1.73″, the survey points out.
The figure drops to 1.48 among women in their twenties and 1.54 among women in their thirties.
"The high costs of childrearing, the shortage of childcare, as well as the concern for the development of the professional career have become the main obstacles for women", adds the text.
far from stability
The latest data published by the National Statistics Administration (2020) reveals that the country's total fertility rate (the average number of children that would be born per woman if she had given birth in all her reproductive years) is 1.3, below the 2.1 required for the population to remain stable.
In an article published on August 1 in the
Qiushi
magazine of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the National Health Commission warned that, by 2035, it is expected that more than 30% of the Chinese population will be older than 60 years.
The reduction in the average size of families, which according to the 2020 census is 2.62 – a decrease of 0.48 compared to 2010 – adds pressure to the care of the elderly and children.
Since last year, some cities have offered aid for families with more than one baby.
Panzhihua, in Sichuan, announced that those with a second or third child would receive a monthly subsidy of 500 yuan (3.63 euros) until the child turns three years old.
Jiaxing, in Zhejiang, promised those with more than two children a discount of 300 yuan (2.18 euros) per square meter for the purchase of a new house.
Zhengzhou, in Henan, assured that by 2025 every urbanization will have a kindergarten.