The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a key advisory body to the Chinese Communist government, convened to address the ongoing population crisis. Wang Huning, the committee’s chairman, advocated for the use of “Marxist Population Theory” to analyze China’s population trends and issues.
The state-run newspaper Global Times reported on the conference, but did not provide a detailed explanation of Marxist Population Theory or how Wang intended to utilize it to boost the national population. Historically, Marxism has been associated with harsh measures such as war, political executions, and enforced starvation, making its effectiveness in promoting population growth questionable.
Karl Marx believed in increasing the workforce and output as long as workers were not starving, expressing concerns about overpopulation under capitalism. Maoist policies in China, influenced by Marx’s views, led to population control measures like the One Child Policy, which exacerbated the current population crisis.
At the conference, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong emphasized the need to enhance fertility support measures and reduce the costs of child-rearing and education. Other committee members suggested strategies such as economic support, childcare services, and reproductive health services to address the population decline.
To incentivize childbearing, China is increasing subsidies for parents, with some regions offering significant one-time payments. However, changing societal trends, high costs of raising children, and cultural shifts towards delayed marriages and smaller families continue to impact birth rates.
Despite minor improvements in births over the past year, factors like the pandemic and seasonal preferences play a role in shaping birth rates. While childcare subsidies have been implemented, the reluctance of young people, particularly women, to start families due to economic pressures remains a significant challenge. It is unclear if financial incentives alone can overcome these barriers to increasing the population.
