Let's talk about the two sessions in 2024
According to the 2023 population data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's population has experienced negative growth, with a total population of 14100 million, a decrease of 1 million from the previous year. At the same time, China's population is also aging, with the proportion of people over 60 reaching 194%, while the proportion of the population under the age of 15 is only 168%。
China's population crisis has attracted great attention from the society and society, and population policy has also become a hot topic. Currently, China has a comprehensive two-child policy, which allows each couple to have two children. However, this policy has not been effective in increasing the birth rate, but has led to demographic imbalances, a reduction in the labor force, and pressure on pension and health care.
In order to cope with the challenges of negative population growth and aging, China needs to take measures in many aspects, such as further relaxing the fertility policy, optimizing the population structure, promoting the rationalization of population flow and distribution, and coping with the aging of the population. In this regard, China can draw on and refer to the experiences and practices of some other countries, such as Singapore and Japan.
Singapore is a country with a small population but a high quality population, and it faces the problem of low birth rate of the native population and a high proportion of the foreign population. In order to maintain the quantity and quality of its population, Singapore has adopted a diversified and sustainable population policy, i.e. attracting and retaining migrants while maintaining the local population. Singapore's population policy mainly includes encouraging the local population to have children, providing various financial and social support, such as tax breaks, cash incentives, childcare allowances, education subsidies, housing concessions, etc.; Attract and retain foreign populations, bring in foreign talents with different skills and backgrounds according to the country's development needs, provide more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the local population, and promote social diversity and inclusiveness; Manage and plan the size of the population, formulate reasonable population targets and services according to the country's carrying capacity and resource conditions, and provide adequate infrastructure and services for the population's housing, transportation, education, medical care, environment, etc.; In response to the aging of the population, raise the retirement age and employment rate, increase the income and welfare of the elderly, establish a diversified pension model, encourage the elderly to continue to study and participate in social activities, and improve the health and happiness of the elderly.
Japan is a country with a large population but a serious aging population and negative growth, and it is facing the problems of declining birth rate and longer life expectancy. In order to achieve a balanced and dynamic population, Japan has implemented a comprehensive and long-term population policy, that is, to optimize the population structure and distribution while increasing the birth rate and prolonging life expectancy. Japan's population policy mainly includes increasing the birth rate, implementing comprehensive childbirth support policies, such as providing free preschool education and childcare services, expanding the scope and duration of childbirth allowance and childcare leave, improving women's employment and childbearing conditions, and promoting men's childcare participation, while strengthening support and respect for families with many children; Extend life expectancy by implementing comprehensive policies to extend healthy lifespan, such as improving the quality and efficiency of medical care and care, promoting health management and preventive medicine, establishing integrated community- and family-based care systems, supporting employment and volunteering for the elderly, and promoting people's health awareness and behaviour; Optimize the demographic structure and implement comprehensive policies to improve demographic dynamics, such as promoting the education and employment of young people, expanding the social participation of women and foreigners, encouraging multigenerational cohabitation and community mutual assistance, and establishing a fair and sustainable social security system, while enhancing people's social cohesion and sense of responsibility; Distribute the size of the population, implement comprehensive regional revitalization policies, such as population strategies and action plans that support local governments, promote the coordinated development of metropolitan areas and local areas, provide diversified housing and migration options, and build smart and green urban and rural environments.
Based on the experience of population policy in Singapore and Japan, China can learn from the following options:
1. Relax the birth policy. China could remove birth restrictions and allow couples to make their own decisions about childbearing, while providing more birth subsidies and benefits, such as increasing the amount and duration of maternity and childcare allowances, providing free or low-cost preschool and childcare services, and providing housing incentives and tax breaks for couples who have children. In addition, China can also improve the child-rearing environment and services, reduce the cost and burden of childbirth, create better conditions for couples and families, and strengthen support and respect for families with many children, and increase the enthusiasm and willingness to have children;
2. Attracting and retaining migrants. Attract and retain migrants. China can attract and retain foreign talent with different skills and backgrounds according to its own development needs, provide more employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for the local population, and promote social diversity and inclusiveness. China can provide more convenient working and living conditions for foreign talents by optimizing visa and residence policies, such as providing more flexible work permits and residence permits, providing more social security and benefits for foreign talents, providing more education and employment opportunities for foreign talents' spouses and children, providing more cultural and linguistic exchange platforms for foreign talents, providing more legal and administrative guarantees for foreign talents, and providing more citizenship rights and obligations for foreign talents. Provide more channels for foreign talents to participate in politics and supervision, and provide more honor and reward mechanisms for foreign talents;
3. Optimize the population structure. China can improve the quality and competitiveness of its population by improving its health and education, increasing its human capital and ability to innovate. China can improve the quality and efficiency of medical treatment and nursing, improve people's health awareness and behavior, and prolong people's life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by strengthening basic public health services, promoting health management and preventive medicine. China can also improve the equity and quality of education by universalizing high-quality educational resources, expanding the coverage and participation of education, encouraging lifelong learning and vocational training, upgrading people's knowledge and skills, and promoting the learning and development of the population;
Fourth, promote the rationalization of population flow and distribution. China can alleviate congestion and resource pressure in densely populated areas and promote the development and vitality of remote areas by promoting the balance and coordination of the population between urban and rural areas and between regions. China can provide more public services and benefits, such as education, medical care, housing, and employment, to migrant workers and other migrants by improving their hukou and social security systems, so as to protect their legitimate rights and interests, and promote their social integration and participation. China can also provide more policies and resources for migration and resettlement by supporting local governments' population strategies and action plans, providing more policies and resources for migration and resettlement, and stimulating people's creativity.
Fifth, respond to the aging of the population. Responding to an ageing population. China can improve the pension and medical insurance system, improve the level of pension and medical care, and establish a multi-level pension service system to support the social participation and contribution of the elderly. China can improve the health and well-being of the elderly by increasing the supply and demand of labor, increasing the income and welfare of the elderly, providing more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the elderly, and encouraging the elderly to continue learning and participating in social activities. China can also provide more care and care for older people by establishing integrated community- and family-based care systems, while promoting multigenerational cohabitation and community mutual assistance to enhance their sense of security and belonging.