China changes family planning policy, announces support for couples with three children

In a major development, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on May 31, announced a further relaxation of its family planning policy stressing that it would now support all the couples who wish to have three children. The announcement came in the aftermath of a meeting that witnessed the presence of President Xi Jinping along with other eminent CCP lawmakers. Additionally, the Chinese administration has also announced improvements in childbirth, child care, maternity leaves and childbirth insurance, as reported by South China Morning Post.

“Birth policies will be further improved. Policy that allows a couple to have three children will be introduced with supporting measure. This will improve the population structure of China," a Politburo statement read.

Single Child policy and its evolution

Since 1980, China had mandated 'Single child' policy in the country.  It was only in 2015 that the CCP allowed couples to have two offspring, however, the birthrate plunged even further. The latest alteration in the country’s stringent family planning policy is aimed at improving the country’s population structure and responding to its ageing policy.

This comes as a leading economist, last month, the demographics of the world’s most populous country is set to change as China will witness a negative population growth after 2025. Cai Fang, who is a member of the monetary policy committee of the country’s central, said that the population of China, already at 1.4 billion will peak in the coming four years, before declining. However, as per the census data released earlier this month, that the population decline is happening at a faster rate than expected, adding an additional burden on the country to take care of its elderly population.

 As per the latest data, there were 12 million births reported last year nearly one-fifth from 2019. About 40 per cent were second children, down from 50 per cent in 2017, according to Ning Jizhe, a statistics official who announced the data. While the rules have been altered by the administration, little has changed owing to the high cost of living in mainland China. Meanwhile, the percentage of working-age people 15 to 59 has also fallen from 3.3 per cent last year from 70.1 per cent a decade earlier. On the other hand, the group aged 65 and older grew to 13.5 per cent from 8.9 per cent.