China population: society must accept new norm of low births to better respond to demographic crisis, professor says

Fudan University professor, Shen Ke, said China needs to lower expectations for the recovery of its fertility rate and the immediate effect of policies
Last year, Chinese mothers gave birth to just 9.56 million babies as the overall population fell for the first time in six decades

China's population

Luna Sunin Beijing

Published: 10:00am, 22 Jul 2023

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Chinese society should adjust to the new norm of plunging birth rates and understand that pronatalist policies could take time and exploration to take effect, according to a Fudan University professor, amid ongoing discussions over the national demographic crisis.

“We may need to properly lower the expectation of the fertility rate recovery and the immediate effect of the fertility policies, and gradually adapt to and accept the new norm of low births, so that we can respond to the new demographic era with better systems and policies,” said Shen Ke during a symposium held earlier this month by the Shanghai Population Association and Shanghai Family Planning Association.

According to Shen, the percentage of one-person households in China surged to nearly 25 per cent in 2020, up from 6.3 per cent in the 90s, with widowhood before the millennium being replaced by singlehood in 2005 as the main cause.

“To an extent, that reflected the delay of marriages in China,” she added after the number of marriages in China plunged to the lowest recorded level since the late 1970s last year.

The number of new births in China have been falling for decades, and last year deaths outnumbered births for the first time in six decades, with the overall population falling by 850,000 to 1.4118 billion.

Last year, Chinese mothers gave birth to just 9.56 million babies, representing the lowest total in modern history and the first time the figure had dipped below 10 million.

Chinese governments have been rolling out various measures to boost births, including financial and housing support and more parental leave, but actual results have been inconspicuous.

In addition to a more comprehensive and affordable childcare system, inclusion of assisted reproductive technologies in medical insurance, better publicity of the three-child policy, more policies should be reinforced, including financial support for grandparents who take on childcare responsibilities, according to Shen.

“If the grandparents assume the responsibility of child care, it is also helping the government relieve the pressure, therefore, the government and society should give more economic recognition to intergenerational care,” Shen said.

She added that elderly people who take care of their grandchildren in Australia can apply for special subsidies from the government, while countries like South Korea and Singapore also have similar policies.

On a local level, the health commission in Zhejiang province has vowed to roll out more policies to shore up the plunging birth and marriage rates.

It said last month that it would continue to enchance fertility insurance policies, increase protection of women’s rights in the workplace, as well as extend marriage leave, which stands at three days, compared to 30 days in provinces including Shaanxi and Gansu.