Amended law will help boost fertility rate

China is set to formulate laws to encourage all childbearing age couples to have three children. A draft amendment to the Law on Population and Family Planning will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, later this month

The seventh census results show the Chinese mainland's population has reached 1.41 billion, up 5.38 percent from 2010. Which means China still has the world's largest population. Official data also show Chinese people's education level continues to improve.

Although China still enjoys some demographic dividends thanks to its abundant labor force, its population is aging while the working age population and the numbers of newborns and women of childbearing age are declining. So it is imperative that China take measures to address the aging population problem. And the NPC's move to upgrade the population and family planning policy is part of such measures.

To begin with, China has stopped imposing fines on couples who have more than one child. In fact, the local government in Panzhihua has even decided to provide 500 yuan ($77) each for families with local hukou (house registration) who have a second and third child till the children reach the age of three. The policy applies to babies born after June 12.

The city is the first in China to announce "baby bonus" following the further easing of the family planning policy on May 31 by the central government.

Probably, more cities will follow Panzhihua's example and offer some sort of allowance or subsidy to couples to have more children. To be sure, local governments will adopt more policies to boost the fertility rate in accordance with the amendment to the Law on Population and Family Planning.

The NPC is set to amend the law because the labor force, which plays a vital role in the country's development and urbanization, is declining. But one should remember that fertility rates tend to fall as a country becomes more economically developed－a phenomenon seen across developed countries. As such, the amended law needs to take into consideration ways to reduce the childrearing costs, in a bid to raise the fertility rate.

The draft amendment will further stress the importance of improving prenatal and postnatal care services, guaranteeing pregnant women more social and employment benefits, and extended maternity leave to new mothers, which may encourage them to have three children.

The central government should also adopt a demographic policy that would make education, both academic and vocational, and training more affordable, in order to encourage couples to have more than one child. In fact, China will amend the laws on compulsory, vocational and higher education in a bid to reduce the education cost and thus ensure all children can have access to better education.

China is also likely to formulate policies to promote preschool education, for which it may ask local governments to build more kindergartens. In July, China decided to ban private tutoring institutes from providing for-profit tutoring for students and asked primary and middle schools to offer special after-school classes and activities, including helping kids to complete homework, and attend arts and reading classes and sports programs.

Besides, China will provide free maternity care, and use technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to boost the development of maternity and child health services. It will also strengthen the legal system to better protect the rights of women and children, while formulating other policies in accordance with the amended family planning law.

Some say the raising of the fertility rate will increase the already heavy insurance burden on the government. But without a replacement level fertility late, China will continue to see a decline in the size of its labor force. And since labor is a key factor of production, a declining labor force could affect its productivity.

A country such as China can create more wealth by raising the fertility rate and ensuring all children have equal access to good education. It is wrong to think that the scarcity of natural resources can be counterbalanced by controlling population growth, because a country can more efficiently allocate resources by improving education quality and innovation capacity.

Surely, the NPC will consider all these factors and seek different opinions before amending the family planning law to make it more comprehensive in line with demands of the times.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

The author is a professor at the law school at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

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