To compete with India, US economically, China should lift birth restrictions: Report

New Delhi, Apr 16: All birth restrictions should be lifted by China to tackle the problems of an ageing population and plan ahead to compete economically with a demographically young India and an immigration friendly US, a report by the Central Bank said.

The working paper released by the People's Bank of China said that China's ageing population was worse than that of other nations. "In order to achieve the long-term goals in 2035, China should fully liberalise and encourage childbirth, and sweep off difficulties women faced during pregnancy, childbirth, and kindergarten and school enrolment by all means," the report "Understanding and Countermeasures of Demographic Countermeasures in China" the report said.

The birth rate in China has been falling over the years. The birth rate on the Chinese mainland dropped to 10.48 per cent per 1,000 people in 2019. This was the lowest in seven decades, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The report said the gap between India and China is narrowing. China's economic growth rate has been fasters when compared to India for a long time. However in recent years with India's latecomer advantages, China's dividend fading, India's economic growth has tended to approach China's, the report also added.