Three-child policy

Three-child policy: China's planners cut chives

China's leadership has never changed its policy this quickly. Last Friday, the People's Congress allowed China's women to give birth to three children. Fears of a population decline, rapid aging and a shortage of young workers tipped the scales in favor of the radical departure from its former one-child society. But China's censors are now hardly able to suppress outrage among the population: If China now faces a low birthrate, why was there a need for cruel coercion in the past?

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First Chinese city grants child benefit

By Nico Beckert

China's three-child policy won't help

Alarmed by new data showing that its fertility rate is now similar to that of aging Japan, China has announced that it will permit families to have up to three children. Yet without broader reforms to address high costs of living and rural-urban divides, the new policy could make a difficult problem worse.

By Redaktion Table