China will allow each couple to have three children in a major policy overhaul to address the challenges of its aging population.
The decision was announced after a Communist Party Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping on Monday.
When you discussed with any Chineses (and I did it many times during my previous trip in China) regarding kids, the main concern is the costs: cost of childcare and cost of living.
I raised the point in 2015 when the government abolished the one-child policy. Costs were the first argument that young couples put forward, confirming that one child is enough…
The combination of a lack of affordable public childcare, rising living costs, and the grueling hours’ many people must work to survive are all contributing to reluctance among millennials to have children.
According to a March survey of 1,938 millennials by the Social Survey Centre of China Youth Daily, 67.3% of young people said the inability to find domestic help was the No 1 reason they were unwilling to have a second child.
Some 61.7% cited high financial pressure, followed by a lack of safe and appropriate nurseries at 54%, higher demand for housing at 41.6%, while 24.3% cited the impact it could have on a woman’s career and employment opportunities.
A 2019 report by Chinese online recruitment platform 58.com said continued market growth will see the shortfall in domestic helpers reach 30 million by next year.
The promises of a better life are the prerequisite to any natality steep curve and, at this stage, the CPP has to work hard.
