Shrinking China to boost births and family support

The state council called for efforts to build "a new marriage and child bearing culture" by spreading respect for child bearing, marriages at the right age, and parents' shared responsibility for childcare.

Measures on offer are better maternity insurance, maternity leave, subsidies and medical resources for children, with the cabinet urging local governments to budget for childcare centres and levy preferential taxes and fees for such services.

"Supporting childbirth at this stage is of great significance," said Yang Chang, chief policy analyst at Zhongtai Securities Research Institute.

Although China abandoned its 35-year-old one-child policy in 2015, its birthrate has struggled. (AP PHOTO)

With the number of women of child bearing age between 15 and 49 likely to decline, and willingness to bear children not expected to rise soon, policy support was key to help reverse the downward trend in births, he added.

Although China abandoned its 35-year-old one-child policy in 2015, it has struggled to get the birth rate up, particularly as the period saw rural people stream into the cities for jobs.

Education is another area targeted, with local authorities asked to step up financial aid for students from disadvantaged families, with a mention of the "gradual expansion of the scope of free education".

Local authorities were also told to assist with the burden of housing and employment, by providing more support for families with multiple children to buy homes, and beef up protection for pregnant women and new mothers among workers.

Setting up non-commercial platforms for young people to make friends, date and get married was another way to encourage births, the cabinet said.

Monday's measures follow a survey this month by health officials seeking to understand the factors governing attitudes towards child bearing and the fear around having offspring.