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China has recently announced the replacement of the Two-Child Policy with the Three-Child policy one.
The main reason is that 2020 had the lowest population growth rate in the last decades (about 0.15%).
I am wondering why the government keeps the policy and not simply scrap it. I assume that the effects between the three-child policy and having no limit are far more negligible than between the two and three-child policies.
This is not verifiable to the public. The Chinese leadership did not explain why they're making this call.
Ahead of China's latest census, experts had speculated that birth restrictions might be lifted entirely - though it appears as though China is treading cautiously.
But others said that such a move could potentially lead to "other problems" - pointing out the huge disparity between city dwellers and rural people.
As much as women living in expensive cities such as Beijing and Shanghai may wish to delay or avoid childbirth, those in the countryside are likely to still follow tradition and want large families, they say.
"If we free up policy, people in the countryside could be more willing to give birth than those in the cities, and there could be other problems," a policy insider had earlier told Reuters, noting that it could lead to poverty and employment pressures among rural families.
