Translation Tag: middle class
The CCP Politburo holds “collective study sessions” on a semi-regular basis, in which an outside academic or government expert leads a discussion on a selected topic. Such sessions are important signals as to what issues the senior leadership finds important. The 14th collective study session of the 20th Central Committee Politburo was held on May 27, 2024 and was presided over by Xi Jinping. At this session, Xi delivered a speech emphasizing the need to expand employment, especially for college graduates and younger demographics more broadly, including through policy support for industries with high employment capacity and better aligning talent pipelines with such industries.
This decision unveils China’s three-child policy and supporting measures to combat population aging, which is framed as a serious challenge to the country’s future development. The change is contextualized as part of a broader policy agenda designed to improve the quality and affordability of childbirth and childcare services.
In an interview with China Daily, Wang Pei’an of the China Family Planning Association, an organization affiliated with the Central Committee and State Council, laments the declining interest in marriage and children in today’s China. Among other policy changes, Wang emphasizes the need to promote a culture of shared child-rearing responsibilities across genders and generations, improve maternity leave and childcare systems, and feature family development more prominently in popular online media in order to address China’s declining birth rate.
A prominent scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences argues that addressing barriers to social mobility is key to curbing rising income inequality in China and avoiding the middle income trap. He promotes hukou reform as a potential remedy, advocating for a change in “the method where the supply of public goods treat[s] people differently based on household registration status.”
This article from the Vice President of the School of International Relations and Public Policy at Fudan University explores the shifting politics and values of China’s middle class, as well as its impact on overall society.