China Lifts Birth Cap To Three Children

Announcement a major shift in policy, but many say women’s rights still at risk.

China lifted its one child policy in 2016, allowing couples to have two children. Today the country announced couples can now have up to 3 children. The move is likely to be for economic reasons. As China’s population increases so does it’s elderly demographic and there are signs the replacement level is not being met.

Today Beijing announced a switch to a #three-child policy to shore up birth rates. But China’s working women are ALREADY paying the price for these abrupt changes, with significantly worsened gender discrimination in the workplace. Timely @hrw @yaqiu report +discussion this week. pic.twitter.com/bSK7zj9uXK

— Mei Fong/ 方凤美 (@meifongwriter) May 31, 2021

The official Xinhua news agency said: “…supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country’s population structure, fulfilling the country’s strategy of actively coping with an ageing population”

China has announced a three child policy today after the Two-Child restriction failed to solve the cascade of effects set in by the horrible One Child Policy. It will take years to solve the demographic problems, but lesson is learnt and panic has set in for Beijing.

— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) May 31, 2021

Other measures included support for tax and housing and legal help for women to clamp down on sky high dowries.

Data showed China falls short of the replacement rate for its population with a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per women, a similar level to Japan.

Photogaph: matt512