‘Two sessions’ 2022: from AI to tax cuts, Beijing grasps for solutions to its population crisis

Delegates at China’s ‘two sessions’ have raised pronatalist proposals such as encouraging postgraduate students to get married and using artificial intelligence

China’s population is ageing rapidly and births are plunging, a combination that threatens to weigh on economic productivity and burden the health care system

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China’s population is ageing rapidly and births are plunging. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:30pm, 7 Mar 2022

China has rolled out a raft of proposals on how to incentivise women to have children, including encouraging postgraduate students to get married, subsidising kindergarten and greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education to reduce costs and save time for families.

The ideas, discussed at the annual “two sessions” parliamentary gathering that started on Friday, come against a backdrop of growing concern about the nation’s demographic challenges.

China’s population is ageing rapidly and births are plunging, a combination that threatens to weigh on economic productivity and burden the health care system.

Parliamentary delegates have raised numerous pronatalist proposals such as removing all family planning restrictions, offering free kindergarten for a family’s third child and free day care at workplaces, as well as lowering mortgage rates and personal income tax for families raising multiple children.

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China tackles challenges posed by its ageing population

Zhou Yanfang, a delegate to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and a deputy general manager at Pacific Medical & Healthcare Management, said there needed to be policies to encourage female graduate and doctorate students to have children, while protecting their rights to do so.