FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
China Ponders End of Limits on Births, in Search of Expanding Creativity
May 23, 2018 (EIRNS)—The Communist Party of China’s Global Times published a fascinating “Observer” column on May 22 suggesting that “China is considering an end to all limits imposed on the number of children a family can have.” The suggestion is sourced to Bloomberg rather than to a Chinese origin, but also states that Bloomberg credits a source “familiar with the matter.”
The reasoning of author Yu Ning is the most interesting aspect. He writes that there is no confirmation of the report, but, “one thing is certain: China’s understanding of population has been changing and a growing population is now being considered more of an asset than a burden.
“The old view holds that population is a burden, and when resources are limited, controlling the population will help reduce the pressure on resources, employment and economic development. China’s family planning policy, introduced in the late 1970s, is estimated to have prevented some 400 million births, reducing pressure on resources and the environment.”
Now, however, China is seeing that people,
“especially young people, are a source of creativity. It’s believed more people will create more opportunities and inspire more exuberant creativity. Nowadays talent is being highly sought after by Chinese cities with an eye for further development. This indicates the idea that population, especially talent, as a resource has been widely accepted by local governments and society. A huge population not only provides a bigger pool of human capital, but also creates demand and spurs greater consumption. The sheer size of China, a huge country with a population of over 1.3 billion, is one of China’s core advantages. Why did China’s high-speed rail develop faster than any other country in the world? Its large population and frequent migration of people propped up the huge demand for high-speed rail as a popular means of transportation.”
He writes that 7 billion people have travelled on the high-speed rail system since the first one opened in 2008, and says further that China overtook the U.S. as the largest consumer of IT products in 2013. But, he writes, “More importantly, with huge consumption demands brought about by its population, China has made a greater contribution to the global economy.”
He concludes:
“The potential of China’s development lies in giving full play to the advantage of the population, improving the quality of the people and promoting mass production and mass consumption. Chinese policymakers have been fully aware of this.”
