https://www.scmp.com/rss/328436/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jiangsu has become the first Chinese province to subsidise companies for paying insurance to female employees during their second and third period of maternity leave, a policy that could help counter discrimination against women in hiring. Last week, authorities announced that companies are eligible to be reimbursed for 50 or 80 per cent of the social insurance paid to women who have a second child or a third child, respectively. Companies can apply for six months of reimbursements from the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3178053/china-population-jiangsu-becomes-first-province-subsidise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3178053/china-population-jiangsu-becomes-first-province-subsidise?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 May 2022 08:00:26 +0000 A father in China gifting his unmarried son nearly 20 properties in a bid to help him find a wife has sparked debate about why Chinese parents are so obsessive and desperate to see their children married. The unnamed father from Hebei province in northern China made the generous gift to help his 24-year-old son find a partner and went to see a matchmaker who filmed the encounter in a video which has since spread across Chinese social media. He said he wanted a daughter-in-law after his son went... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3177084/chinese-father-gives-desperate-unmarried-son-almost-20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3177084/chinese-father-gives-desperate-unmarried-son-almost-20?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 May 2022 01:00:13 +0000 In a major move to address the mountain of challenges arising from China’s rapidly ageing population, Beijing has unveiled a private pension scheme that will let employees save funds in pension accounts and invest in financial products. Employees can contribute up to 12,000 yuan (US$1,863) per year to their pension fund under the new scheme, the government said on Thursday in a policy document published online, compared with a fixed payment by both employees and employers under the state pension... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175022/china-population-private-pension-plan-coming-will-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175022/china-population-private-pension-plan-coming-will-people?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Apr 2022 07:45:35 +0000 After a public outcry, Shanghai this week eased its hardline policy on separating Covid-positive children from their parents at medical care facilities, allowing some families to remain together. But the damage from this policy – stemming from China’s embrace of zero Covid and ensuring that anyone who has tested positive must be kept apart at all costs from those who have tested negative – has been done. Let’s not forget the bigger picture here. After decades of a one-child policy, Beijing moved... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3173476/chinas-child-separation-covid-19-rules-are-damaging-bid-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3173476/chinas-child-separation-covid-19-rules-are-damaging-bid-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:30:30 +0000 China has “great potential” for a higher fertility rate if the standard of living and access to public services are improved, according to a leading demographer In an article in The Beijing News on Wednesday, Cai Fang, a demographic economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said there was an “urgent need” to improve basic public services and make them available to everyone to address the extremely low fertility rate. While the trend of lower fertility rates has been seen across... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3172436/china-can-boost-births-improving-living-standards-demographer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3172436/china-can-boost-births-improving-living-standards-demographer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Mar 2022 04:00:23 +0000 China is facing renewed calls to lower its legal marriageable ages – the oldest in the world – after its number of marriages plunged to a new low last year. But some demographers are questioning the effectiveness of allowing people to tie the knot earlier in life, as a trend of delayed marriages is expected to continue while China becomes more urbanised and its young people shy away from the high costs of raising a family. The number of Chinese people in their first marriages fell nearly 50 per... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3172427/chinas-demographic-crisis-sparks-renewed-calls-lower?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3172427/chinas-demographic-crisis-sparks-renewed-calls-lower?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Mar 2022 10:30:56 +0000 China’s first-tier cities are losing their lustre as mass lay-offs and rising costs are increasingly driving people to seek a life in secondary cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou amid the economic headwinds facing the country. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou used to be the most glamorous cities in China, heavily coveted by young people and college graduates. Yet, the latest data shows that the populations of these cities have either declined or stagnated. In 2021, the number of residents in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3172161/chinas-biggest-cities-losing-appeal-rising-costs-and-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3172161/chinas-biggest-cities-losing-appeal-rising-costs-and-job?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Mar 2022 13:30:23 +0000 A social media post in early March claiming that India had become the world’s most populous country created a storm in China. The post claimed India’s population had hit 1.415 billion and was widely shared on social media, adding to rocky relations between Beijing and New Delhi and concerns over domestic growth hurdles in China, while also fuelling discussions about a host of social issues. Demographic issues have been a hot topic in China since last year, when the once-a-decade census found the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3171867/china-india-population-debate-comes-down-quantity-vs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3171867/china-india-population-debate-comes-down-quantity-vs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Mar 2022 00:00:17 +0000 Health authorities in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing have ordered a hospital to cease offering baby gender selection services. Edward Hospital, a private facility in the city’s Shapingba District, earlier this month launched the fetus customisation service, claiming that they can help people have boys if they want or girls, Chongqing TV reported. The hospital offered three packages at different prices. The most expensive one is described as “LST baby tailor-making” technology... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3171626/china-population-hospital-caught-offering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3171626/china-population-hospital-caught-offering?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:00:30 +0000 China’s population is likely to peak this year, a central bank adviser said, with several provinces already reporting declines in the population growth rate. Cai Fang, a member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee, said it is “entirely possible” that the world’s largest population will peak in 2022, according to a report in the 21st Century Business Herald. Separately, Yicai reported that seven out of the 16 provinces that have so far disclosed birth data saw negative... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3171229/china-population-entirely-possible-will-peak-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3171229/china-population-entirely-possible-will-peak-year?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 04:57:07 +0000 The number of marriages in China hit a new low last year, extending a near decade-long decline and casting a shadow over Beijing’s efforts to raise the fertility rate. The Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday that around 7.63 million marriages were registered in 2021, the lowest total since 1986 when records began. That compared with more than 8.13 million in 2020 and a peak of 13.46 million marriages in 2013. According to independent analysis, the number of marriages per 1,000 people in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3171165/marriage-rocks-china-women-rethink-their-options-and-covid-19-limits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3171165/marriage-rocks-china-women-rethink-their-options-and-covid-19-limits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2022 09:03:35 +0000 Li Meng is a devoted mother trying to support her two-year-old daughter, but in the eyes of Chinese society and the state, she is almost a second-class citizen. Millions of single mothers like her have it rough in a country where out-of-wedlock births are frowned upon, and where only married women can claim maternity benefits. Li, a Shanghai resident, got pregnant with her boyfriend, but he left her to raise the child by herself. Ineligible for maternity leave because she was not married, she... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170943/despite-chinas-push-lift-birth-rate-single-mothers-must-fight-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170943/despite-chinas-push-lift-birth-rate-single-mothers-must-fight-their?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Mar 2022 04:46:15 +0000 Proposals for matchmaking committees within local trade unions and a drive to encourage more graduate students to have children triggered a frosty reception on social media in China, as officials brainstormed ways to raise the country’s plunging birth rate. In all, delegates to China’s annual meeting of parliament submitted more than 20 suggestions for boosting population growth in a country that did not scrap a decades-long policy restricting couples to a single child until 2016. A Communist... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169863/are-women-just-machines-chinese-web-users-turned-proposals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169863/are-women-just-machines-chinese-web-users-turned-proposals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:18:27 +0000 A delegate at China’s top political advisory body has suggested allowing single women over 30 to give birth to one child, as the country’s birth rate declines. Hua Yawei, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s leadership to be more tolerant towards unmarried mothers and to give equal treatment to the children born to single women, the People’s Daily reports. At present, single women on the mainland are “theoretically” not eligible to have babies... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3169632/call-china-support-single-women-over-30-give?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3169632/call-china-support-single-women-over-30-give?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Mar 2022 04:00:14 +0000 China has rolled out a raft of proposals on how to incentivise women to have children, including encouraging postgraduate students to get married, subsidising kindergarten and greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education to reduce costs and save time for families. The ideas, discussed at the annual “two sessions” parliamentary gathering that started on Friday, come against a backdrop of growing concern about the nation’s demographic challenges. China’s population is ageing rapidly... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3169579/two-sessions-2022-ai-tax-cuts-beijing-grasps-solutions-its-population?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3169579/two-sessions-2022-ai-tax-cuts-beijing-grasps-solutions-its-population?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2022 11:30:20 +0000 China should lift all of its family-planning restrictions and step up pronatalist measures to boost the country’s precariously low birth rate, according to a number of representatives to the “two sessions” agenda-setting meetings that kick off on Friday. With thousands of China’s political elites converging on Beijing to attend the annual parliamentary gatherings, a number of representatives have revealed their proposals to the central government to address the nation’s worsening demographic... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169118/two-sessions-2022-calls-chinas-family-planning-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169118/two-sessions-2022-calls-chinas-family-planning-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 20:30:18 +0000 China is set to improve access to medical care and increase services for the elderly in the next five years as part of a push to support the nation’s fast ageing population. The National Health and Medical Commission (NHMC) issued the 14th five-year plan on elderly care on Tuesday, which highlighted a dire need to improve health services for elderly in both rural and urban areas. The population aged 60 and above was 267.36 million last year, accounting for 18.9 per cent of the total, according... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168967/china-population-new-five-year-plan-vows-tackle-insufficient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168967/china-population-new-five-year-plan-vows-tackle-insufficient?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2022 11:30:19 +0000 China’s decades-long urbanisation push may have reached a bottleneck, after the movement of rural residents to large cities rose by less than 1 percentage point last year for the first time in 25 years. And the downward trend looks to continue this year, experts say, as various local governments have lowered their economic growth targets, making it difficult to generate enough jobs to further support migrant workers working and living cities. The nation’s urbanisation rate of permanent residents... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168678/chinas-urbanisation-push-could-be-bottleneck-slowest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168678/chinas-urbanisation-push-could-be-bottleneck-slowest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Feb 2022 10:30:19 +0000 China will soon convene its annual parliamentary meetings, which will set out plans for policies involving the economy, trade, diplomacy, the environment and more. The “two sessions”, which are the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), begins this year on March 4 in Beijing. It will offer China’s top officials the chance to lay out major economic policies affecting global markets and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3168233/chinas-two-sessions-what-can-we-expect-beijing-plots-course-2022?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3168233/chinas-two-sessions-what-can-we-expect-beijing-plots-course-2022?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Feb 2022 15:00:08 +0000 Relaxing rules to allow foreign nannies could boost China’s ailing birth rate by as many as 200,000 a year, and save families as much 200 billion yuan (US$31.6 billion), according to a report published on Wednesday. With the minimum salary for a domestic helper in Hong Kong set at HK$4,630 (US$593.40) per month, hiring a foreign nanny could cut expenses for a Chinese family by 60 per cent. The average salary for a nanny in big Chinese cities 10,000 yuan (US$1,578.48) per month. The money saved... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3168101/china-population-3-million-foreign-nannies-could-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3168101/china-population-3-million-foreign-nannies-could-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 20:00:22 +0000 China is sounding the alarm about “unprecedented” challenges facing the nation’s food security this year, while prioritising domestic grain production and soybean self-sufficiency in its annual blueprint for rural policies. The concerns were outlined this week in the year’s first joint policy statement issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, the nation’s cabinet. Atop the to-do list is the need to ensure that there is abundant year-round arable land for... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168111/chinas-grain-security-faces-unprecedented-difficulties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168111/chinas-grain-security-faces-unprecedented-difficulties?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 13:30:13 +0000 One of China’s key farming provinces is stepping up efforts to halt a decline in its population, which the local government says is hindering economic development. Pressure is growing on Heilongjiang in China’s northeastern rust belt as its population has plummeted by 16 per cent, or 6.46 million, from a decade ago, according to data from the 2020 census. At a meeting chaired by provincial party secretary Xu Qin, the province’s population problem was labelled “a strategic issue” hindering... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168090/china-population-rust-belt-province-heilongjiang-unveils-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168090/china-population-rust-belt-province-heilongjiang-unveils-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 11:00:16 +0000 China has taken another step toward setting up a national pension system, beginning the “balancing” of its main retirement fund to help regions with older populations continue to make payouts. National balancing was started on January 1 for the corporate employees pension fund to “allow shortfalls to be compensated by surpluses nationwide,” deputy finance minister Yu Weiping said on Tuesday. The central government has been slowly working to link the various provincial pension plans into a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168074/china-edges-closer-national-pension-system-balancing-main?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168074/china-edges-closer-national-pension-system-balancing-main?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:08:03 +0000 China has confirmed that it will gradually start pushing back its long-mandated retirement ages in the coming years, in line with Beijing’s plans to better accommodate the needs of the elderly and adjust to new realities stemming from the nation’s rapidly ageing population. The possible raising of its legal retirement ages has become an increasingly debated topic in recent years. And further impetus was given to the idea as recent data sounded alarms over how rapidly China’s workforce is... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3167985/china-delay-retirement-ages-gradually-2025-after-holding-firm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3167985/china-delay-retirement-ages-gradually-2025-after-holding-firm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:30:15 +0000 Beijing will include more than a dozen fertility services in a government-backed medical insurance scheme for the Chinese capital, state media reported on Monday, supporting those seeking to have babies with China’s birth rate at a record low. A total of 16 medical services using assisted reproductive technologies will be covered by the city’s state insurance effective from March 26, in a move to “take proactive fertility support measures”, according to the Beijing Daily. The new reproductive... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3167809/china-population-beijing-adds-fertility-services?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3167809/china-population-beijing-adds-fertility-services?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Feb 2022 07:31:57 +0000 Fewer Chinese people chose to get married last year, while on average those that did postponed the age at which they tied the knot, further adding to the population crisis stemming from a plunging birth rate. The number of marriage registrations has been declining since 2013, while data recently released by a number of local authorities confirmed a continuation of the downward trend. It is the latest blow to China’s plans to encourage couples to have more children after the number of births... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3167431/china-population-marriages-fall-latest-blow-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3167431/china-population-marriages-fall-latest-blow-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Feb 2022 10:51:39 +0000 Grappling with a population crisis and plunging birth rate, China is embracing a pronatalist policy that could see it lift highly restrictive and controversial policies on women donating and freezing their eggs. Public support has also been growing online in recent weeks, after the National Health Commission (NHC), China’s top health authority, said in December that it had “started revising rules and standards relevant to assisted reproductive technology, based on wide consultations with... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166962/chinas-population-crisis-could-give-women-greater?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166962/chinas-population-crisis-could-give-women-greater?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 16:00:13 +0000 China should relax its dual citizenship restrictions, a Beijing-based demographer has said, as controversy swirls over the nationality of Winter Olympics gold medallist Eileen Gu. Olympic athletes must be citizens of the nations under whose flag they compete. But US-born Gu, 18, has chosen to represent China – her mother’s country. She continues to decline to disclose the status of her own citizenship, which has made many on social media turn against the champion freestyle skier. But all... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3166887/winter-olympics-star-eileen-gu-chinese-or-american-let-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3166887/winter-olympics-star-eileen-gu-chinese-or-american-let-people?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Feb 2022 13:00:18 +0000 China has vowed to provide special care for elderly empty nesters, as concern grows over the nation’s fast-ageing population. “We can’t allow urban senior citizens to become isolated without their needs being met in the internet age, nor can we allow the elderly in rural areas to have to collect firewood to prepare a meal by themselves,” said Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development division with the National Development and Reform Commission. Speaking at a press conference this week, Ou said... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166724/china-population-beijing-pledges-support-empty-nesters-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3166724/china-population-beijing-pledges-support-empty-nesters-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Feb 2022 12:45:20 +0000 What is China’s population? Mainland China’s population increased by less than half a million last year, while the number of births also dropped for the fifth consecutive year. China’s overall population increased by around 480,000 people – to 1.4126 billion in 2021, from 1.412 billion a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed. The population includes China’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as servicemen, but excludes foreigners. It does not... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3165798/china-population-demographic-turning-point-just-around?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3165798/china-population-demographic-turning-point-just-around?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Feb 2022 12:30:08 +0000 A county in central China has sparked controversy by offering a host of incentives to encourage “leftover” women to marry, including with unemployed men, local media have reported, amid rising concern about the country’s dwindling birth rate. Yihuang county in Jiangxi province is offering preferential treatment for housing and employment, as well as birth allowances, to women and their partners, according to a report from Shanghai-based media The Paper. “At present, the phenomenon of ‘older... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165120/china-population-county-sparks-uproar-telling-leftover-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3165120/china-population-county-sparks-uproar-telling-leftover-women?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jan 2022 14:15:19 +0000 A single Chinese woman who had triplets using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment has been heavily criticised – mainly by men – for “giving the children an incomplete family”. Li Xueke, a 33-year-old Shandong-based businesswoman in eastern China, responded to the criticism by saying that “a family is complete as long as there is adequate love”, news portal Thepaper.cn reported. Four years ago, Li decided to become a mother on her own. She went to Thailand to receive IVF treatment and chose... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3165090/chinese-woman-who-has-triplets-using-ivf?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3165090/chinese-woman-who-has-triplets-using-ivf?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jan 2022 07:54:46 +0000 The latest figures from mainland China show that population growth has slowed, and the country’s overall population could start to decline very soon. China is still the world’s most populous country, with more than 1.4 billion people, but births fell from 12 million in 2020 to 10.62 million last year despite population control policies being further relaxed. Despite the government promoting a three-child policy with more generous benefits, China’s birth rate fell to a record low of 7.52 births... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164623/china-can-learn-live-its-shrinking-population-it-cant-stop-trend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164623/china-can-learn-live-its-shrinking-population-it-cant-stop-trend?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jan 2022 00:45:18 +0000 A demographic crisis arising from China’s unprecedented low number of newborns is being compounded by an elderly population that is ageing faster than ever, and experts warn that this might be an irreversible trend that could result in older people being relied on to drive consumption and even fill the labour pool. Mothers in China gave birth to just 10.62 million babies last year, an 11.5 per cent drop from 2020, which contributed to an overall population increase of just 480,000, while the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3164122/china-population-demographic-window-opportunity-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3164122/china-population-demographic-window-opportunity-will?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:00:12 +0000 China’s population level could fluctuate around the point of growth stagnation in the coming years before it starts to decline, analysts say in light of new data showing the mainland’s overall population increased by just 480,000 people in 2021. The official numbers, released on Monday, are fuelling concerns about China’s demographic crisis, including worries that its population size may have peaked last year or will do so in the near future. “In the next 10 to 20 years, China’s natural... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163841/chinas-population-nears-normalised-phase-decline-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163841/chinas-population-nears-normalised-phase-decline-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:15:10 +0000 China’s better-than-expected economic growth last year moves it a step closer to supplanting the United States as the world’s No 1 economy, but a tumbling birth rate is adding to a host of recent pressures, including uncertainty from the Omicron variant. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.1 per cent last year, narrowly beating most market expectations and the government’s target of “above 6 per cent”. But GDP growth in the fourth quarter slowed to 4 per cent year on year, down from 4.9 per... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163720/china-gdp-growth-2021-beats-expectations-narrowing-gap-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163720/china-gdp-growth-2021-beats-expectations-narrowing-gap-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 16:00:16 +0000 Mainland China’s population increased by less than half a million last year, and the number of births also dropped for the fifth consecutive year in 2021, data released on Monday showed. China’s overall population increased by about 480,000 people – to 1.4126 billion in 2021, from 1.412 billion a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed. The population includes China’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as servicemen, but excludes foreigners. It... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3163617/china-population-increases-14126-billion-2021-births?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3163617/china-population-increases-14126-billion-2021-births?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 02:03:13 +0000 When China unveils its 2021 birth totals on Monday, the revelation will cast the spotlight on the impact of the three-child policy in its debut year – a year that featured widespread and high-level discussions over how the nation must address its worsening demographic crisis. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is also expected to release 2021’s year-end population, annual birth rate and breakdowns in terms of age, gender and residence, according to the official schedule and conventional... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163465/china-population-2021-birth-data-offer-fresh-insight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163465/china-population-2021-birth-data-offer-fresh-insight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jan 2022 10:30:15 +0000 Chinese economist and online celebrity Ren Zeping was banned from posting on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, late on Wednesday after a string of controversial posts suggesting the central bank print 2 trillion yuan (US$314 billion) to support the birth of 50 million babies over the next 10 years sparked lively public debate. Weibo said in a notice at the top of Ren’s account that Ren had “violated relevant laws and regulations”. Although Ren cannot post anything new, his account has not been... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163291/chinese-economist-ren-zeping-banned-posting-weibo-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3163291/chinese-economist-ren-zeping-banned-posting-weibo-after?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jan 2022 13:30:28 +0000 One of China’s most high-profile economists says the central bank should print 2 trillion yuan (US$314 billion) to help boost low fertility rates – a controversial suggestion that has sparked widespread discussion. Ren Zeping, China Evergrande Group’s former chief economist, offered his solutions to China’s low birth rate and rapidly ageing population, in an article published on Monday. “The central bank [should] print an extra 2 trillion yuan to encourage society to have 50 million more kids in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162974/chinas-population-crisis-can-be-solved-only-printing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162974/chinas-population-crisis-can-be-solved-only-printing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jan 2022 13:30:17 +0000 For members of Generation Z in China, winning at life does not necessarily involve getting married or having children, no matter how much their parents and the government want them to. It is more about “living for yourself”, according to Janet Song, 25, who works at a pet cafe in Guangzhou and said she does not think the presence of a husband or child could help her be successful. “My two elder female cousins and I are all only children in our respective families. They are both married but now... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162221/why-are-chinas-gen-z-women-rejecting-marriage-kids-more-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162221/why-are-chinas-gen-z-women-rejecting-marriage-kids-more-their?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 03:30:21 +0000 With one of China’s most populous provinces saying its birth rate has plunged to a more than four-decade low, Beijing’s policy advisers are warning against the potential pitfalls of not doing enough to encourage couples to have a first child. Henan province, the country’s third-most-populous administrative region, with 99.36 million people, has reported that its number of newborns fell to 920,000 last year – a 23.3 per cent decline from 2019 – as the birth rate dropped to 9.24 births per 1,000... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162272/china-population-forget-two-or-three-kids-getting-couples?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162272/china-population-forget-two-or-three-kids-getting-couples?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 16:00:23 +0000 A falling fertility rate compounded by an ageing population is a growing headache for China, impinging on nearly every aspect of the world’s second largest economy. China’s births fell by 18 per cent year on year in 2020 to just 12 million, down from 14.65 million in 2019 – marking a near six-decade low. Some regions saw births fall more than 10 per cent, while Chizhou city in Anhui province said the number of newborns in the first 10 months of the year plummeted by 21 per cent compared to a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161715/chinas-population-crisis-5-ways-beijing-trying-tackle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161715/chinas-population-crisis-5-ways-beijing-trying-tackle?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jan 2022 09:30:14 +0000 A county in northern China is collecting information from singles to build an official database for matchmaking purposes, a local official said as the nation faces dire demographic prospects. In response to a citizen’s question on the official “Message Board for Leaders” website operated by People.cn, the party boss of Luanzhou in the northern province of Hebei said the county had been distributing application forms for matchmaking activities since November 18. “Single youths fill in personal... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161302/chinas-population-crisis-prompts-county-play-cupid-pair-unwed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161302/chinas-population-crisis-prompts-county-play-cupid-pair-unwed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Dec 2021 13:30:18 +0000 The northeastern province of Jilin, which has the second lowest fertility rate in China, will offer loans and tax breaks to parents as it tries to boost its declining population and fast ageing society. The provincial government announced on Thursday it would provide up to 200,000 yuan (US$31,400) to married couples that planned on having children, with the interest rate deduction depending on the number of children they have. Couples who have two to three children will also receive money, based... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3160987/chinas-population-crisis-plunging-births-jilin-province?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3160987/chinas-population-crisis-plunging-births-jilin-province?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Dec 2021 09:15:29 +0000 Six days a week for 13 hours a day, 56-year-old Chen Qingling and her husband clean the corridors and bathrooms of an office building in Beijing to feed themselves and their son’s family. While their wealthier peers spend retirement travelling, taking dance lessons and classes in Chinese tea culture and painting, Chen – who hails from the countryside in Henan province – does not have savings or a pension to live out her golden years in comfort. “My son is still recovering from an injury and his... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3159689/china-population-without-adequate-pensions-more-elderly-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3159689/china-population-without-adequate-pensions-more-elderly-say?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Dec 2021 00:00:25 +0000 China’s population is expected to peak in 2021 and fall steadily in the foreseeable future in a turning point for the country’s population trajectory, according to James Liang, executive chairman of online travel platform Trip.com Group and renowned demographics expert. Liang told the South China Morning Post on Thursday that the number of births across the country fell 20 per cent to about 10 million in 2021, citing published data from local Chinese authorities, while the number of deaths could... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3158373/chinas-population-peak-2021-demographic-turning-point-has-already?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3158373/chinas-population-peak-2021-demographic-turning-point-has-already?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Dec 2021 04:00:21 +0000 For the first time in decades, India’s population growth looks to be slowing – an achievement that advocates of its “voluntary” approach to family planning say shows more coercive methods, such as those used by China, are not needed. Data from the Health Ministry’s most recent National Family Health Survey, released last week, showed India’s total fertility rate had dropped to 2.0, below the so-called replacement rate of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. In urban areas it was even... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3157783/what-one-child-policy-indias-population-growth-slows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3157783/what-one-child-policy-indias-population-growth-slows?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Nov 2021 11:12:31 +0000 The number of Chinese newborns dropped by 45 per cent in the last two months of 2020 compared to the final year of the notorious one-child policy five years earlier, according to a new research paper, as the coronavirus particularly dampened the willingness of women under 30 to give birth. Chinese mothers gave birth to just 12 million babies last year, down from 14.65 million in 2019, marking an 18 per cent decline year on year and continuing the descent to a near six-decade low, while the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156977/china-population-dire-reality-crisis-underlined-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156977/china-population-dire-reality-crisis-underlined-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Nov 2021 14:15:22 +0000 Consistent falls in the number of births in some regions in China of more than 10 per cent this year have prompted further concerns of a deepening population crisis, underlining suggestions that support measures to address the issue have been ineffective, with one city seeing number of newborns plummet by 21 per cent. Authorities at a local and national level responded to the concerning results of the 2020 census released earlier this year with a series of policy changes and invectives, but... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156246/china-population-tumbling-regional-births-underline-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3156246/china-population-tumbling-regional-births-underline-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Nov 2021 03:15:22 +0000