Speech at the UN International Conference on Population,Mexico City,August, 1984

In seeking a solution to its population problem, China, as a developing socialist country, has been making unremitting efforts to develop economy while controlling the rapid growth. The objective is to control rapid population growth so that population growth may be in keeping with socioeconomic development and commensurate with utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. In the past decade, and particularly since 1979, China has made much progress in developing economy and gained remarkable successes in controlling population growth. The natural population growth rate dropped to 1.15% in 1983, from 2.089% in 1973. Living standards have improved with a gradual annual increase of per capita income. All this proves that the policy of promoting family planning to control population growth along with planned economic development is correct. In China family planning is a basic state policy. The government has advocated the practice of "1 couple, 1 child" since 1979. This does not mean that 1 couple could have 1 child only in every case. The government provides guidance for the implementation of family planning programs in the light of specific conditions such as economic developments, cultural background, population structure, and the wishes of the people in different localities. The requirements are more flexible in rural than in urban areas and more so among the people of national minorities than among the people of the Han Nationality. In rural areas, couples who have actual difficulties and want to have 2 children may have a 2nd birth with planned spacing. In carrying out its family planning program, China has consistently adhered to the principle of integrating state guidance with the masses' voluntariness. The government has always emphasized the importance of encouraging the people's own initiatives, through publicity and education, which is the key link in implementing the family planning program.     

Theory and methods in China's population policy]

Before 1949, China's population development was noted for its high birth rate, high death rate, and low natural growth rate. After 1949, the death rate showed a large-scale decline, the birth rate was maintained at a high level, and natural growth rate also remained high. Between 1949 and 1973, the natural growth rate was kept above a 2% annual rate. Since then, the need for population control has become increasingly obvious. The theory and methods of China's population policy can be summarized in the following points: (1) material production has to keep up with the pace of population growth, and that means the quantity and quality of the population have to match athe production of materials needed for life and consumption; (2) in a Socialist society, material production and population growth have to develop with well-designed plans; (3) the population question has a direct impact on social and economic development; (4) through enforcement of a national policy, cooperation from different individuals, and ideological education, family planning will gradually be accepted by the general public for the well-being of the country.     

Sum up experience to make continuous progress

Population control in China has been very successful in combatting the extremely rapid growth in population (birth rate: 1960's 33.65/1000; 1970's 24.57/1000; 1980's 18.3/1000). The female mean age for 1st marriage has increased from 19 in the 1950's to 22.63 in the 1980's. Infant mortality has declined substantially from the 1950's to the present (200 deaths/1000 vs. 81.3/1000 (cities)). Most people have embraced family planning and population control and have emphasized quality of childrearing vs. quantity. The goals of China's policy are as follows: economic development of the nation and well-being of individuals; coordination of population growth and socioeconomic development; implementation not only in accordance with state condition, but also according to the wishes of the people; continued success of the population and family planning organization network; integration of state guidance with individual voluntariness; and strengthening the unified leadership of the state. China's 3rd baby boom began in 1986 and will last through 1995. Unplanned children will count as 30% of the annual births. Government action is attempting to strengthen family planning education and research. These measures will help control the expected population boom.     

Family planning and economic development in Shifang County]

According to Marx, population either hinders or expedites economic development. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Shifang County's population grew unchecked. In the 1960s its annual rate of population growth was higher than the national average. Because the growth of material goods was insufficient in supporting the increase in population, the national economy suffered. In 1977, of those Shifang families in debt to the production brigade, over 80% were multiple children families. Some of these families owed over 1300 yuan after 10 years. Obviously such families cannot be counted on to expand the economy or to increase family incomes. Between 1971 and 1981 when Shifang County began family planning, the average annual rate of growth was lower than the national average. At the same time, material production gradually matched population reproduction, expediting economic development. If, with the current age structure (32.19% are aged 0-15 years; 4.95% are over 65 years; average age is 28.41 years), each family has only 1 child, then the rate of natural growth from 1981-2000 will be 3.6% annually. A yearly decrease in population would enable the County to build up pension funds, save on food, maintain the current standard for acreage allotment and expand accumulated capital.     

Irrational international economic order is an obstacle

China is a socialist and developing country. As the most populous country in the world, China has a population now of over 1 billion, making up more than 1/5 of the total world population. However, China has a rather poor economic and educational foundation to start with. This is particularly true in the rural areas, where 80% of the total population lives. The problem of population increase and decrease in arable land has grown more acute. Hence, the Chinese Government has been promoting family planning since the 1970s. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China explicitly stipulates that "the state promotes family planning so that population growth may fit the plan for economic and social development." Thanks to the implementation of the basic state policy of family planning, the blind population growth is turning into a planned one. It is estimated by the fertility rate of the 1970s that 200 million births have been averted during the last 16 years. Thus, China has made contributions to the stability of the world's population. Were China to allow its population to grow blindly instead of having practiced family planning over the past 10 years, the world population would be substantially over 5 billion by the middle of this year.     

The population control helping sustainable economic development in Shantong province

A brief overview is presented of the impact of population control on sustainable economic development in Shantong Province, China. Family planning education was initiated in 1970. Birth control is now widely accepted among the population. The birth rate in 1995 was 9.82/1000 population. The natural growth rate was 0.335%. The population growth rate was below the national average. The total fertility rate was 1.1 children/woman. Shandong Province has a total population of 81 million people. Shandong's share of Chinese total population declined from 8.4% in 1949 to 7.2% in 1995. Gross domestic product in 1995 was 500 billion yuan. The annual urban expenditure was 4000 yuan/person, which was an increase of 1500 yuan from 1991. The annual rural net income was 1650 yuan/person, which was an increase of 680 yuan from 1991. During 1971-95, expenditures for bearing children declined by 492 billion yuan. The party secretary of the province stressed that population quality is desired now that the birth rate is under control.     

A discussion of the effect of development of commodity economy on rural fertility trend in the countryside]

A long-term commodity economy in China, according to this report, will help to improve family planning and to decrease the population. The new economic reforms have brought a commodity economy to rural areas of China and the result is an improved level of productivity and a higher standard of living. At this stage in China's economic development, many couples want to have more than 1 child which they could not afford before. This poses a new problem for family planning objectives. As the economy has shifted from a partially self-contained economy to a commodities-based one, more rural inhabitants want more children for the following reasons: 1) the economic system in China is based on the production of individual households (since agriculture in China today is still carried out by manual laborers, the household productivity rate is determined by the number of laborers it can provide); 2) as rural inhabitants have a higher income than before, they are no longer worried about fines; 3) decentralization reduces the governments financial resources and it is unable to follow through with, e.g., promises of 1-child family incentives and bonuses, and welfare. As a result, families do not uphold the family planning objectives. Family planning will eventually overcome these problems, however, through promotion of family planning campaigns and as the commodity economy advances and becomes more thoroughly developed. The author states that China is currently in the midst of an economic transition period which, once over, will see a decrease in the overall population.     

Birth rate of Beijing population drops nearly 60% in 20 years

The birthrate of the Beijing (China) population dropped by 60% in the last 20 years. Consequently, population reproduction is characterized by a pattern of low birthrate, low mortality rate, and a low growth rate. The birthrate of the Beijing population was 36.30/1000 in 1950 and rose to 43.41/1000 in 1963. During the 1950-63 period, the average annual birthrate of Beijing population reached 36.71/1000 and the number of births was 2.23 million. Since the beginning of the 1970s, the rapid population growth has been effectively checked by great efforts made in practicing family planning. Over the 1970-83 period, the average annual birthrate dropped to 14.9/1000 and the number of births totaled 1.75 million. With the advance of the family planning effort, particularly acceptance of the concept of practicing family planning for the modernization drive, the people's reproductive notion has changed for the better. At this time, more and more men and women of reproductive age have broken away from the influence of old ideas such as "the earlier the couples have their sons, the soonner they will be helped." By 1982, the average age at 1st marriage was 25.8 years for males and 24.7 years for females. This was a remarkable change as compared with the 1960s. According to the 1982 population census, Beijing women over 60 years had 4.83 children, while those in the age groups 55-59, 50-54, 45-49, 40-44, 35-39, 30-34, and 25-29 has 4.81, 4.50, 3.72, 2.95, 2.32, 1.58, and 0.57 children respectively. Today, 0.66 million couples in Beijing volunteer to have only 1 child.     

Does family planning work in a Chinese way

The demographic and economic characteristics of China make it necessary to do family planning work in China in a Chinese way. Special characteristics of China and corresponding strategies are detailed 1) China is rather underproductive and underdeveloped, with a huge population, whose growth must be curtailed while industrial and agricultural production is enhanced. 2) In the next 10 years, a large number of young people will center childbearing age, prompting a government policy favoring late marriage and one child per couple. 3) China is large and heterogeneous, and regional authorities should have some population policymaking functions to take sociocultural differences into account. 4) Male child preference ideology in rural areas has been gently combated with a resulting increase in family planning rate from 65.1% to 74.2% from 1979 to 1983. Family planning authorities have made considerable progress, as demonstrated by figures such as a drop of women's total fertility rate from 5.68 in the 60s to 2.07 in the 70s. The task at hand remains large: the population at the end of 1983 was 1,024,950,000. However, family planning is an element of state policy, the marriage law, and the constitution, and mored an more, societal ideology. Government policy equates family planning with child wellness and societal welfare and attempts supportiveness of couples showing positive birth limiting attitudes. An ample system of family planning programs and resource persons furnishes education, a variety of high quality methods are available, and contraceptive research is some of the best in the world.     

"Taking full responsibility" should be emphasized in the control of population growth]

Since the establishment of a responsible production system in the countryside, the living standard of the general public has risen constantly, but a new problem in family planning has also occurred. A great many people believe that more male children will eventually provide more labor and thus more income. Consequently, there has been a gradual rise in the birth rate. A crucial problem which needs an immediate solution is how to match the population growth and agricultural production. As a responsible production system is established, an appropriate family planning system should also be established. Married couples of childbearing age should sign contracts concerning family planning and should follow regulations outlined in the contract. Contract violators should be punished with fines, and thoas who follow the contract should be offered economic rewards. Cadres and responsible officials should take full responsibility for reaching the goals set for their respective county, district, commune or brigade, and their people should be rewarded or punished according to their performance. Special care should be given to the old, handicapped, orphans and widows and those who suffer from illness. Households with only one child should be awarded and encouraged with additional benefits. Taking full responsibility is a concept which should be used extensively in agricultural development, production management, and family planning.     

Grasp the work of family planning by unifying thinking and stabilizing the policy

The China Population Information and Research Center reported that in 1988 the number of childbearing women between 20 and 49 was 4.65 million above 1987, but the population growth rate was 0.19 lower than in 1987. Controlling the population is still a difficult problem. The 3rd baby boom of New China; economic, cultural, social, and other factors; and the uneven progress of family planning are cited as causes of the lack of control. The 13th Party's Congress in 1989 plans to work to reform family planning and control population growth. In particular, late marriages and childbearing will be promoted; in cities, one-child-per- couple will be policy; in rural areas, only girl households will be allowed another child only after several years; local family planning regulations will be supported; and research on family planning and safer, longer acting contraceptives will be financed.     

陕西未来人口发展趋势分析

自上世纪70年代大力开展计划生育以来,陕西在控制人口增长方面取得了较为显著的成绩,人口生育率进入到低生育水平时期。进入“十一五”．陕西制定了国民经济和社会发展计划,提出到2020年全省总人口控制在4050万以内．确保人均国内生产总值达到3500美元。本文将依据2005年1％人口抽样调查资料,采用年龄移算法．对陕西省2006-2030年的人口发展规模、人口生育率、人口增长率、人口年龄构成变化、育龄妇女变化等进行科学准确的测算。提出了在低生育水平下．人口与计划生育工作出现的新情况、新问题,是构建社会主义和谐社会、落实科学发展观大环境下人口与计划生育工作者面临的新的机遇和挑战。     

A preliminary analysis of the high birth rate in India]

The author first provides some basic demographic data for India and points out that the current annual rate of population growth of 2.45 percent is slightly higher than the annual increase in food production. Problems in the areas of employment, education, housing, and transportation, as well as the general problem of poverty, are seen as a consequence of this imbalance. The lack of success of the national family planning program is attributed primarily to the failure to achieve a satisfactory rate of economic growth. Contributory factors include early marriage, the low status of women, the desire for large families, and administrative problems associated with the family planning program.     

Birth planning being a historical trend of population evolution in China]

China has historically valued and promoted population growth. Throughout the centuries, China's population development was characterized by 4 trends: 1) High birth rate caused by: a patriarchical system and ethical philosophy of ancestor worship which required a continuous family line, plus a system of private ownership where land was the primary means of production; a political philosophy that encouraged births and punished the lack of offspring; and a social attitude that promoted early marriages. 2) High death rate caused by: civil wars and violent struggles for power; natural disasters; plague; and infanticide of female babies. 3) A relatively slow rate of population growth resulting from high birth and death rates. 4) A relatively sparse population and abundant land prior to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). With the establishment of a new China, basic changes occurred in the social system and the means of production. For 30 years (1949-1979), China enjoyed peace, higher educational and public health standards, and was free from disastrous natural calamities, a consequence of which was a higher birth rate and lower death rate. Concurrently the thinking was that "the more people the better," so that population grew at an alarming rate. From 1949 to 1979, China's population increased by 422,150,000, compared with its previous 2000 years in which the population had increased nearly 400,000,000. In 1965, the national birth rate was 38.06/1000 compared with 19.95/1000 in 1944 for the 6 largest cities. The death rate in 1938 was 28.2/1000, but by 1965 it had dropped to 9.55/1000. The rate of natural population growth in 1965 was 28.51/1000 compared with the highest rate in China's history of 1957/1000 durint the Eastern Huan Dynasty (25-189 A.D.). Unfortunately there has been no conscious policy to plan population growth along with economic growth, so that population grew uncontrolled and people had less land per person than at any other time in China's history. Thus, China now advocates 1 child per couple.     

以人的全面发展统筹解决人口问题

进入21世纪以来,我国人口发展面临着前所未有的复杂局面,稳定低生育水平的基础还不牢固,人口素质、结构、分布与经济社会发展的矛盾日益显现,人口发展越来越多地受到各种因素的综合影响。采取综合措施,以人的全面发展统筹解决人口问题,已经成为新时期我国人口和计划生育工作新的指导方针。     

Population goal set for China's new five-year plan

China's 7th Five-Year Plan recommends that China's total mainland population be held within the limit of 1.113 billion, with an annual average natural growth rate of about 12.4/1000. As a large number of youths will reach marriage and childbearing age during the course of the 7th Five-Year Plan, the Plan affords a high priority to the family planning program and to the control of population growth. The plan proposes 5 policies and measures to realize its goal: continuous efforts need to be made to give family planning a high priority; late marriage, late childbearing, and the 1-child family should be advocated; ideological and political education should be strengthened; scientific and technological research devoted to family planning should be intensified; and family planning communication and service centers at the county level should be consolidated and strengthened, and the family planning program should be conducted systematically and be ongoing.     

A better future is ahead of us

China's family planning program is implemented under the unified leadership of the Chinese government. The main responsibilities under this program are to set up and strengthen family planning offices at all levels, formulate relevent laws and regulations, work out programs, principles, and policies for population growth, carry out intensive publicity and education, speed up scientific and technological research on family planning, and mobilize all the people and related departments to support the work of family planning. Family planning in China is practised on a voluntary basis. Education on patriotism is conducted among the people to enable them to see that strict control of population growth and conscious practice of family planning according to policy have a crucial bearing on China's prosperity and well being. As shown in practice, China has not only succeeded in maintaining sustained and steady economic growth, but has also succeeded in drastically reducing the population birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate, and in extending average life expectancy. This demonstrates the superiority of China's socialist system. To control the growth of the population is an extremely arduous task. However, as long as China keeps to a practical and effective policy, the goal of keeping the total population at around 1.2 billion by the end of the century can be attained.     

Food and population: beyond five billion

The developing countries, with about 3/4 of the world's population, account for less than 1/2 of the production of major food crops. The Third World's per capita food production of 260 kilograms in 1983 was only 1/3 of that in the developed countries. Yet China and India, the most populous countries in the world, have cut fertility rates and moved to food self-sufficiency. An illustration of the food/population dynamic is that although production of food staples in North Africa and the Middle East is projected to expand at about the same rate as that of Asia, about 2.9% annually, owing to a much more rapid rate of population increase, they will achieve only a 0.2% increase in output per person per year, compared with a 1.4% annual growth rate in Asia. In the longer term, higher dietary levels per capita for a world population double that of the present would imply at least a tripling of demand for dietary staples. But more intensive cultivation would place natural resources, many already degraded, under much greater stress. Balancing population, food, and resources for sustained survival is a continual process. The principle cause of hunger and malnutrition is poverty; it is more determinative of nutritional status than aggregate food production.     

The population structure and development of the national minorities in Guangxi]

The Guangxi Autonomous Region has the largest number of minorities in China. Since 1949, great progress has been achieved in the areas of politics, the economy, culture and education, public health, science and technology, and production businesses. The living standard for the minorities as been raised, and the minority populationshows a trend toward rapid growth. As a matter of fact, the population growth for the minorities exceeds that of te Han people, and an imbalance exists in the population growth of minorities. Population growth does not match the development and production of material resources. The rapid population growth has an adverse impact on the increase in average income and an adequate supply of consumer goods for all the people. In addition, great pressure has been experienced in education, public health, and other developments at the local level. The promotion of population quality for the minorities has also been slowed because of the rapid population growth in quality. At the present time, minorities in the Guangxi area need to develop their economy with greater effort. In addition, they need to practice effective family planning measures with more enthusiasm so that they may gradually reduce the population growth rate and reach a harmony between economic growth and social development.     

Population quality must be improved to carry out the strategic goal of economic construction]

The poor population quality (quality of life of the population as a whole) of Zhejiang Province in southeast China and the imperative need for its improvement are the subject of this report. Its 40 million inhabitants have a life expectancy of 69 years. For every 1000 people there is only 1 doctor and 1.7 hospital beds. These figures are lower for all the other southeastern provinces. According to the 1982 census, there are 47 college graduates, 517 high school graduates, and 1779 middle school graduates for every 10,000 people. The quality of life of the population can be improved through increased productivity because there is a direct relationship between the 2. Although China already enjoys a high level of productivity, it is up to the government to concentrate its efforts on the quality of productivity through reform. China's political structure, its rules, regulations and conventions have contributed to making the economy backward. A substantial change within the social system is imperative to put China's economy on a more progressive footing. Moreover, efforts in family planning must continue. The current population growth rate is not commensurate with the economic growth rate. As population control and population quality are interrelated, a smaller population would mean a higher standard of living. The report concludes that in order to fulfill the strategic goal of economic construction quality is a task that cannot be postponed, since it concerns Zhejiang Province's economic projections, as well as the quality of the new labor force that will be in place by then.