China Approves Three-Child Policy, Set To Provide Economic Support For Encouraging Couples

Beijing: The national legislature in China on Friday formally endorsed the three-child policy put forth by the ruling Communist Party as a major policy shift was expected to be launched with an aim to prevent the worrying decline in birth rates in the world’s most populous country.

The revised Population and Family Planning Law allows Chinese couples to have three children and was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), news agency PTI reported.

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As there are concerns regarding reluctance among Chinese couples to have more children due to financial reasons, the amended law also includes more social and economic support measures in a bid to tackle the issue.

According to the new legislation, the country will take supportive measures, including those in finances, taxes, insurance, education, housing, and employment, to reduce families’ burdens as well as the cost of raising and educating children, PTI cited state-run China Daily as reporting.

The NPC has revised the law to implement the central leadership’s decision to cope with new circumstances in social and economic development and promote balanced long-term population growth, the report added.

Earlier this year in the month of May, the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) approved a relaxation of its strict two-child policy to permit all couples to have up to three children.

After following the draconian one-child policy for decades which is blamed by policymakers as the cause behind the demographic crisis in the country, China permitted all couples to have two children in 2016.

Chinese officials say that the one-child policy implemented for over three decades prevented over 400 million births.

The decision comes after a once-in-a-decade census revealed that China’s population was growing at the slowest pace to 1.412 billion amid official projections that the decline may begin as early as next year.

The new census figures also suggested that the demographic crisis China faced was expected to deepen with the population of people above 60 years hrowing to 264 million, up by 18.7 per cent last year.