What happened
Weeks after reporting that its population grew at the slowest rate in decades, China has decided to adopt a new “three-child policy.” According to state media agency Xinhua, couples will now be allowed to have three children in a strategy intended to “actively address the ageing population and maintain China’s natural advantage in human resources.” While the announcement has been made in the run up to Children’s Day on June 1, it is unclear when the policy will come into effect — and how Chinese citizens will react to it.
The Jing Take
In the late 70s, China introduced its controversial one-child policy as the population approached 1 billion. This continued for decades, until 2015, when the cap was lifted to allow for two children, in an attempt to combat its shrinking labor pool and the increasing possibility of weak economic growth that comes with it. However, little changed then, and it’s unlikely now that this loosening of family planning policies will be enough to avert what looks like a looming demographic disaster. Moreover, if this fails to work, China will have to adopt additional measures such as increased subsidies to families, including a vast day care program, and perhaps most interestingly, potentially opening up its tightly controlled immigration policy to a ready and willing global workforce eager to make up for the economic slack China has caused on itself.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.