China announces new measures for couples to have more children to avert demographic crisis

BEIJING: China has announced a slew of policies, including a childbirth subsidy system and tax cuts for parents, aimed at motivating couples to have more children to halt the falling birth-rates in order to deal with the looming demographic crisis.

A directive issued by the State Council or the central cabinet on Monday outlined 13 targeted measures designed to enhance childbirth support services; expand childcare systems; strengthen support in education, housing and employment, and cultivate a birth-friendly social atmosphere.

The falling birth rates resulted in China losing the most populous nation in the world to India last year.

The latest initiative also includes improvements to the childbirth subsidy system and personal income tax relief related to childbirth, official media reported.

Key provisions include extending the maternity insurance scheme to individuals in flexible employment and rural migrant workers who have already participated in the basic medical insurance scheme.

This move aims to ensure that new parents feel more secure taking time off work, as local authorities are urged to enforce policies regarding maternity, paternity and childcare leave, official media reported.

Notably, suitable labour pain relief and assisted reproductive technology services will be added to the list of medical services eligible for insurance reimbursement, state-run CGTN reported.

The new measures appear to have drawn a lukewarm response from the public with a user on microblogging platform Weibo commenting that the measures were like if “you’re buying a Ferrari, and the government is giving you a coupon worth 100 Yuan”, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

China, with its 1.4 billion population, is grappling with a rapidly ageing population with people above 65 years now comprising over 14 per cent of the population.

China's population aged 60 years and above approached 300 million by the end of 2023. Projections suggest it will exceed 400 million by 2035 and reach 500 million by 2050, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported earlier this month.

Recent reports said thousands of kindergarten schools are being closed all over China as the children's recruitment declined rapidly.

The schools are being converted to run old age homes with staff trained to manage geriatric care.

China's serious demographic crisis is blamed on the decades-old one-child policy followed by the ruling Communist Party.

Amid warnings that the demographic crisis will seriously impact the economy, China scrapped the one child policy in 2016 and permitted all couples to have two children.

As it failed to make an impact, China revised the population policy in 2021, allowing people to have three children in an attempt to address the reluctance of couples to have more kids due to mounting costs.

As the costs of pensions and geriatric care mounted, China last month raised the retirement age of men from 60 to 63 and for female office workers from 55 to 58 years.