Langfang, China –
New mother Zhang Xiaofei wanted to be financially secure before having a baby, wary of high child care costs that have been softened only a little by Chinese government cash incentives to boost record-low births.
The world’s second-most populous country is threatened with a demographic crisis after its birth rate halved over the past decade — all while people rapidly age out of the workforce.
Beijing has made “building a childbirth-friendly society” a priority over the next five years, China’s Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday as lawmakers gathered in the Great Hall of the People for their annual political conclave.