China expected to see baby boom within two years

Helped by China's two-child policy, the number of new born babies soared to its record high last year since 2000. With the baby boomer generation era expected to start in earnest in two years, its impact on China as well as the global economy is likely to be huge.

"The number of new born babies last year posted 17.86 million, up 7.9 percent from 2015 and the biggest number since 2000," the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China said Sunday. "Some 17 million to 20 million new babies will be born until 2020." This prediction has signaled that the baby boomer era will start in earnest in China.

According to the Commission, the birth rate, or the number of babies born per 1,000 people, also increased to 12.95 people, the highest since 2002. The natural increase rate of population, which refers to birth rate minus death rate, also surged to its highest since 2005 with 5.86 per 1,000 people. Last year, the number of Chinese population stood at 1.38 billion, an increase of 8.09 million from 2015.

The Chinese authorities said the two-child policy, which was promoted in earnest since their limited introduction in 2014, is showing effect, adding the baby boom will occur until 2018.

"China's growth momentum, which had weakened as the economic growth rate fell to an annual 6.7 percent last year, will likely be revitalized due to the baby boom," a Korean government official said. "If the baby boom materializes, it will prove a boon to the Korean economy in the mid to long term." Korean companies are also actively making inroads into China's baby goods market since China's announcement of two-child policy.

Wan-Jun Yun zeitung@donga.com · Sang-Hun Lee january@donga.com