China needs 600% child subsidy rise to prevent deeper birth crisis: scholars
China’s fertility rate could soon fall to world’s lowest unless action is taken, as current subsidies are ‘a drop in the bucket’, scholars warn
Beijing should drastically raise its nationwide childcare subsidies to stave off a deepening birth crisis, according to Chinese scholars, who warned the country’s fertility rate could soon fall to the lowest in the world unless action was taken.
The government should learn from the examples of Singapore and South Korea – two nearby countries facing similarly severe demographic challenges, which have both introduced enhanced pronatalist policies to turn around the situation, they added.
James Liang, a business leader and demographer, has called for a subsidy package worth 62,000 yuan per child to be introduced, arguing that such a move could boost China’s fertility rate by 25 per cent over the next couple of years.
He Yafu, another independent demographer, has said subsidies of at least 72,000 yuan per child – more than six times the current national package – would be necessary to help families deal with the high cost of raising children.
The calls followed news that Singapore had introduced a generous new support package for parents, and the release of birth figures from South Korea suggesting that the nation’s pronatalist policies were leading to an uptick in fertility.