Wow! Newborn Baby In China Proposed To Get IDR 2.2 Billion

JAKARTA - A Chinese professor has urged the government to offer parents 1 million yuan or about $ 156 thousand equivalent to IDR 2,219,560,220 for each newborn child.

The professor's proposal, in light of efforts to shore up the country's declining birth rate, sparked debate on social media about the soaring cost of raising a child.

China's population is rising at its slowest rate in decades from 2010-2020, according to the latest population census results. This condition raises concerns that the country's dwindling workforce will not be able to support an aging population.

Liang Jianzhang, a professor at Peking University's School of Economics and also the founder of travel service provider Ctrip, said in a video posted on his Weibo social media channel, it would cost about 10 percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP) to increase the birth rate from the current 1.3 to 2.1.

According to him, the amount reaches 1 million yuan per child and can be allocated in the form of cash, tax relief, or housing subsidies.

"I have spoken to many young people, if only a few tens of thousands of yuan, will basically not encourage people to have more children", he said, according to Reuters on Wednesday, May 12.

The costs will be compensated by future contributions made to the economy, Liang said.

"If a family gives birth to another child, the child's future contribution to social security, tax revenue, will exceed 1 million yuan", he said.

The comment became a trend on Weibo on Tuesday night, with users debating whether it was a reasonable use of China's tax revenues? And is 1 million yuan even enough to cover the cost of education?

"Having children and not maximizing their talents is considered a crime in today's society", said one user who posted under the name Not Old and Confused.

"This should be done as early as possible - if you wait a few years no one wants to give birth even with 2 million yuan", wrote another user named Rainy Wind.