As new Prime Minister

SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The cost of raising a child in China stands at nearly seven times its per capita GDP, far more than in the United States and Japan, highlighting the challenges facing Chinese policymakers as they try to tackle rapidly declining birth rates, new research showed.

Beijing-based YuWa Population Research Institute said in a report published on Tuesday that the average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 in China in 2019 stood at 485,000 yuan ($76,629) for a first child, 6.9 times China's per capita GDP that year.

China would need to spend at least 5% of its annual GDP to create incentives for couples to have more children, including education subsidies, preferential mortgage rates, tax breaks, equal paternity and maternity leave, as well as the construction of more childcare centres, it added.

Experts warn China's ageing population will put huge pressure on its health and social security system, while a dwindling workforce could also severely limit growth for the world's second largest economy in the coming decades.







On Weibo, another user writing under the name Lawyer Zhang, said that action needed to be taken to address the disproportionate burden faced by women, who are expected to give birth and raise children as part of their natural "motherhood".

It helps that the other British children who come here have made them feel so welcome - they've really thought about what they must have been through.'  Olivia Firth, 24, the camp manager, said: 'We're all amazed by how resilient they are and how quickly they have fitted in.



Leicester ace Youri Tielemans is another target for Nou Camp officials. The Belgian, who has the physical prowess to emulate Davids, is out of contract at the King Power in 2023, meaning Barca could land him on the cheap in January.

Although new policies allow families to have as many as three children, China's birth rate dropped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people in 2021, the lowest since the National Bureau of Statistics began recording the data in 1949.

'The new generation is also coming but I am still here':... Liverpool 'join Manchester United in the hunt for Frenkie de... Karim Benzema wins the Ballon d'Or for the first time aged... Jorginho 'is demanding £150,000-a-week to stay at Chelsea...

My dream is that one morning I wake up and my mum tells me the war is finished and I can go home. But I love being at the camp because it helps take my mind off things.'  'It felt very strange here when I first came, and I found it hard. I didn't want to leave.





I can't do this anymore. I love and thank you guys'  This next tour will be my last. Exhausted: On September 14, Demi wrote in a since-deleted post on social media that 'I'm so f— sick I can't get out of bed.



Child rearing costs are even higher in China's major cities, reaching more than 1 million yuan in Shanghai and 969,000 yuan in Beijing.
Birth rates in the two cities are even lower than the national average.

The legendary Dutchman's aggression and playmaking qualities shored up Frank Rijkard's midfield in the second half of that season and allowed the likes of Ronaldinho, act class Javier Saviola and Patrick Kluivert to flourish in the final third; helping them win 15 games out of 20 after the winter break, secure a second-place finish and arguably save Rijkard's job.

Now, 18 years on, Barca need another Davids-esque recruit to galvanise their squad, with Xavi desperate to pair Sergio Busquets with a hard-tackling playmaker in midfield, and there are a number of Premier League names on their radar.

Agent Jorge Mendes has reportedly offered Neves to Barca, and while Wolves value him at around £40million there is hope that a loan deal could be struck in the New Year which includes an obligation-to-buy clause for next summer.

It has been a frustrating first half of the campaign so far for Barca, who are failing to live up to expectations after forking out close to £150million in the summer transfer window despite their well-documented financial problems.