China had recently revised its two-child policy in a response to the rapidly declining birth rate. But while the government has “allowed” couples to have more than two children without imposing any penalties, many couples have no plans of having any kids.

The reasons are both social and economic. With rising costs of housing, food, education and other things, more and more Chinese couples find themselves struggling to support themselves in China’s large urban centres.

Chinese women are also often pressured by their employers not to have children or to delay pregnancies for as long as they can. Women in China are allowed shorter maternity leave and regularly face discrimination at work. Their careers also end up taking a big hit.

As a result, provinces and cities in China are starting to take steps to ensure that couples find more support in having children.

What steps has China taken?

Provinces like Shaanxi, Jiangxi and Sichuan among others are encouraging couples to have children. Shaanxi has already increased maternal leave to 168 days and now seeks to add another six months to the leave period, a move that will bring it at par with countries like Germany or Norway. The province is also considering extending paternity leave to 30 days.

In the province of Jiangxi, women will be able to avail 90 days maternity leave, and men will be given 30 days of paternity leave, and married couples will be able to take 15 days of marital leave as well.

In counties like Sichaun, in addition to leaves, regulations to improve the burden of family birth, upbringing and education support for parents and also raising the quality of maternal health services were also implemented.

Also Read: Why China now wants couples to have three children

Provinces have even offered subsidies, waived hospitalisation costs, and even given cash to parents to encourage them to have more children. Hubei Province has waved hospitalisation costs for the birth of a third child. A village in Guangdong province will be providing up to $510 each month to parents for having children that are born after September 1. In counties of Gansu Province, $6,254 would be given to parents in subsidies for couples who give birth to two or three children.

But whether these measures will be able to boost China’s declining birth rates remains a question. With birth rates of 1.3 in its latest data, the Chinese population is rapidly starting to age and decline, similar to that of countries like Italy and Japan. For a country that has long relied on its impressive workforce and cheap labour to bring foreign investment and economic upliftment of its society, the declining population is a significant problem.

Also Read: Three-child policy? No way, say Chinese couples

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:Nov 4, 2021 9:40 AM IST