The focus is on optimising the structure of the population to help maintain economic growth and stability
The government has announced it will provide an annual subsidy of 3,600 yuan (US$501) for every child born on or after January 1 this year until they turn three, regardless of whether they are the first, second or third child. Last year, births in China rose for the first time since 2017, an uptick partly attributed to the auspicious Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.
This year, China’s population will slip below 1.4 billion people. While some may argue that, given its natural resources, the country could do with a smaller population, the effect of ageing and shrinking of the workforce on the structural population balance in the future has become a worry for policymakers. It has given rise to concerns about a “super-aged” society comparable demographically with Japan, where nearly 30 per cent of people are over 65.
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