HONG KONG: China will launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a “new-era” marriage and childbearing culture to foster a friendly childbearing environment, the new move by authorities to boost the country’s falling birth rate.
According to Reuters, the state-backed Global Times reported that China’s Family Planning Association, the national body implementing the government’s population and fertility measures, would launch the projects to motivate women to marry and have children.
The Global Times said promoting marrying, having children at appropriate ages, motivating parents to share child-rearing responsibilities, and curbing high “bride prices” and outdated customs are the focus of the projects.
The Times said that Cities included in the pilot included the manufacturing hub Guangzhou and Handan in Hebei province. The association launched projects in twenty cities, including Beijing, last year.
Demographer He Yafu told the Times that ” society needs to guide young citizens more on the concept of marriage and childbirth.”
The projects come amid the flurry of measures Chinese provinces are rolling out to spur citizens to have children, including housing subsidies, tax incentives, and free or subsidised education upon having a third child.
China implemented the rigid one-child policy from 1980 until 2015 – the root of several of its demographic challenges have allowed India to become the globe’s most populous country. The limit has since been increased to three children.
Concerned about China’s first population drop in 6 decades and its rapid ageing, the political advisers proposed in March that single and unmarried females should’ve access to egg freezing and IVF treatment, among other services, to boost the nation’s fertility rate.
