In late June, China further relaxed its family planning policy to allow each couple to have three children, in a bid to increase the birth rate and cope with the aging population. The decision made by the top leadership came three weeks after data from the seventh national census conducted in 2020 was released, which revealed that the country is facing multiple challenges, including slower population growth and a shrinking labor force. The news went viral, drawing tons of jibes from netizens. A changed family planning policy alone is unlikely to reverse the decline in the birth rate unless other support measures including comprehensive and good quality childcare and elder care systems are established. In addition, the government has to make great efforts to provide better education, improve housing conditions and increase incomes if it wants to encourage couples to have more children.
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