China expected to end all childbirth restrictions by 2025: Sources

Amid reports of its significant drop in birth rate, China is expected to remove all childbirth restrictions by 2025. The speculations of the ending limits have been cited by a report in The Wall Street Journal that found that the action might be executed at the end of the government's current five-year economic plan. Areas with the lowest birth rates will be first to enact the new rules of not having any limitations in childbirth. 

Despite changes that were made last year, the country produces lesser newborns than in any year due to several reasons including the depths of the Great Famine and the recent economic growth of the country, per capita income which is still less than half that of neighbouring South Korea. China also had strict policies when it came to birthing, for example- sterilizing women, force abortions on them, impose punishment of hefty amount and give jail time to those who break rules surrounding giving birth.

Why not scrap birth caps entirely?

According to a report by CNN, the country probably did not scrap strict policies entirely due to ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Beijing is known to have to commit genocide against the Muslim-majority Uyghur people in Xinjiang. The family planning policies were strictly enforced on minorities in the far-western province. The restrictions resulted in the downfall of local birth by a third in 2018.

According to experts, it has been observed that ending the policy would make it much more difficult for Beijing to justify attempts to limit the population in Xinjiang and other regions with large minority groups, which tend to have more children. However, to have control over Xinjiang was not the only reason for the Chinese government's retention of three-child limits on families but it would be disinclined to find new roles for the tens of thousands of people employed by the government to oversee the country's massive family planning policy. 

China's one-child policy

China brought a one-child policy nearly 40 years ago to control its population and the birth rate has rapidly dropped since then. The policy limited couples to having one baby in order to remove poverty and stem a population boom. Now the country has concerns about not having enough young workers to keep powering its economic growth. Citing the worry, China brought some relief of allowing two children however parents continued to stick to one child due to financial reasons. 

(With agency inputs)