Baby talk gets economist banned on Weibo

A famous Chinese economist has been banned from social media platform Weibo (9898) days after posting comments calling on the central bank to print US$315 billion (HK$2.45 trillion) a year to pay for subsidies to encourage births.

Ren Zeping, who was also the former chief economist in the troubled property developer China Evergrande (3333), has "violated relevant laws and regulations," according to a notice on Weibo. The ban doesn't delete his account but he can no longer post anything new.

Ren drew attention with his proposal that the People's Bank of China print 2 trillion yuan (HK$2.45 trillion) each year in the coming decade, which he said the government can then use as funding to provide subsidies to boost births and build nurseries. He estimated the plan could increase the number of babies by 50 million in the next 10 years without adding to the burdens of households, companies and local governments.

Two articles by Ren on this topic posted on the social media and messaging platform WeChat earlier this week were removed because of violation of rules, according to notices on the platform.

China's birth rate plunged to a new low in 2020 even though the government has relaxed birth restrictions.

Ren said those born between 1975 and 1985 should be encouraged to have more babies since they come from a generation that still views children as desirable. Those born after 1990 are reluctant to even get married, he added.