The appearance of laid-off workers amid China's efforts in cutting overcapacity won't affect people's hope for more children, a spokesperson with the annual session of the national political advisory body said Wednesday.[Special coverage]
Responding to a question if job losses amid China's digestion of excessive capacity is in conflict with the prospect of more children, Wang Guoqing said such job losses are "temporary" and the relaxation of one-child policy is "a carefully-made decision."
China will work to ensure its population grow in an orderly way, Wang, spokesperson for the Fourth Session of the 12th National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said at a press conference ahead of the annual session beginning on Thursday.
China has since the beginning of this year abolished the decades-old one-child policy, allowing all couples to have two children. As China becomes an ageing society, worries of insufficient labor force have been on the rise.
The world's second largest economy is trying to revitalize its industrial sector through squeezing out redundant workers.
According to preliminary forecasts, the coal and steel sectors will see a combined laid-off workers totaling 1.8 million.
To cushion the effect of job losses on families and society, the central government will allocate 100 billion yuan (15.4 billion U.S. dollars) over two years to help the laid-off workers find new jobs.
