The number of babies born in China may continue to decline this year, a government official said, possibly bringing closer the day when the population starts to shrink and increasing the demographic challenges for the world’s most populous state.
“Fertility levels and new births are expected to keep falling this year, based on our monitoring of birth and population in the first half of 2021,” Yu Xuejun, deputy head of the National Health Commission, said at a briefing in Beijing. China will roll out more supporting measures to optimize birth policy, Yu said.
One significant highlight of the decision according to several demographers was the abolishment of the controversial "social maintenance fee," an administrative charge imposed on couples who have extra children outside of China's previous family planning policy.
How many children an individual has will no longer be a reference when he or she registers for a household account, enrolls in school, and applies for a job, according to the decision.