China adopts three-child policy rule to counter ageing population problem

Beijing: – China has allowed three children for every married couple to counter the increasing percentage of older people and reduction in the birth rate in the population. The ruling communist party made this announcement on Monday. Economists had warned that this growing number of senior citizens in the Chinese population would deliver a major jolt to the supply chain and financial sector in the global economy. This decision of the communist regime becomes significant against this background.

Information regarding the Chinese population was published at the beginning of this month. According to that, the Chinese population has reached 1.411 billion, and out of these, 264 million have crossed the age of 60 years. While the number of aged people is increasing, the birth rate in the population is declining. The Chinese population growth rate has been declining for the fourth successive year. The number of births in the year 2020 has reduced by 15%, and this is the fourth consecutive year of falling birth rate. It is also being said that the 2020 numbers are the lowest since 1950.

In 1979, the then communist regime in China had imposed the one-child policy to contain the consistently increasing population growth rate. It is claimed that this policy has resulted in reducing the growth in the Chinese population by nearly 400 million. But this controversial policy was scrapped after the adverse effects started becoming apparent in the year 2016. Since 2016, Chinese couples have been allowed to have two children.

But this decision has hardly made any difference, and the birth rate continues to fall consistently. 18 million children were born in China in 2016. This number dwindled to 12 million in 2020. The declining birth rate goes to show that the mindset of the Chinese population has still not changed. The analysts from China themselves are saying that this is the reason for the failure of the two children policy. Doubts are being raised that in such a scenario, will the three-child policy bear any fruits.

The Chinese media welcomed the decision made on Monday. But the reactions on social media were different. The netizens responded that in these difficult times, how can one fulfil the responsibility of three children. In the last decade, the population in the Chinese cities has increased considerably, and the one-child policy has become the norm for these urban couples. The tones on social media reflect the same sentiment. China is identified as the ‘Factory of the World’. The main factor responsible for achieving this distinction was the cheap labour available, in plenty. But the economists are expressing concerns that enough workforce may not be available in the future because of the declining birth rate and the resultant decline in population. Raymond Yeung, Chief Economist, Greater China at ANZ Bank, recently warned that China would lose a whopping 70 million of its labour force in the next few years.