(ECNS) -- Although China's recent policy has allowed couples to have second babies, surveys show that families are still wary of doing so because of the expense.
At this year's China Entrepreneur Summit held over the weekend, Liang Jianzhang, CEO of Ctrip.com, said the government should subsidize willing families to help implement the new policy.
In his speech on China's creativity, Liang said the drive cannot survive without the healthy and sustainable development of human resources, especially in the service sector. Citing Ctrip's business as an example, Liang said sustainable fertility is vital for the future market and talent pool.
Despite the loosened family control policy, Liang is still worried about how much it will achieve.
"Cases in many developed countries have shown that the wealthier a country is, the fewer babies will be born there," said Liang.
Comparing the encouraging policies in China to other low birth-rate countries, Liang said more financial support is needed. He suggests the government take out 15 percent of China's total GDP to fund families with second children.
"Currently, about 15 percent of the tax collected from the working population will go to the elderly care sector to support aged parents. If the youth-to-old ratio is maintained, that means the second children in their families are paying for nobody when they grow up," said Liang. "So, fairly speaking, their money should be reimbursed to their families."
Du Peng, deputy director of the Institute of Population Research under the People's University of China, estimated that a government subsidy may not come in the near future in China, as authorities will gradually guide the second-child policy by reviewing its effects stage by stage.
