In order to promote academic exchanges & achievement display and related researches of population and development among Asian developing countries, the Population Health and Public Governance of the Second Asian Conference on Population and Development kicked off in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province from June 7-9, 2019. Sponsored by Zhejiang University, and jointly undertaken by China Population and Development Research Center (CPDRC), the Institute of Population Research of Peking University, the Institute of Population Research of Yunnan University and UNFPA, it was hosted by Professor Mi Hong, and addressed by representatives from CPDRC, Peking University, Zhejiang University, Netinsearch and UNFPA, attracting over 70 experts, scholars and postgraduates of 40 universities and organizations from 9 countries including the US, Canada, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. 

Ms. Liu Hongyan, Deputy Director General, CPDRC presided at the launching ceremony of the B&R Population Research Alliance, which was jointly advocated by CPDRC, Peking University and Zhejiang University. The alliance is aimed to fuel international cooperation, establish partnership and enhance academic activities inspired by the Belt and Road initiative at sub-regional and regional levels.

This conference covered lots of topics like birth, death, aging, marriage & family, health, poverty, migration, gender, public policies & governance and social security. All of the participants from different countries gained deep understanding through presentations, discussions and comments.

In the opening speech, Ms. Liu Hongyan stressed on existing challenges in Asia, including fast ageing, decreasing fertility and large-scale urbanization, which called for unified efforts and cooperation across the whole Asia. In this context, this conference appropriately enables a new platform for equally regular communication and mutual learning on population and development of Asia and other regions.

According the　keynote speech of Mr. Babatunde Ahonsi, UNFPA Representative, during fruitful 40 years of cooperation between UNFPA and China, China witnessed rapid development up to the second largest economy in the world largely due to demographic dividend. UNFPA proudly makes great contribution to improving China’s capabilities in collection, analysis and research of demographic data as well as population and development planning. Noteworthily since foundation with supports of UNFPA, CPDRC has been offering advanced policy consultation to Chinese government as a national top research center. Furthermore it actively shares China’s expertise and experiences in demographic data and analysis, policy research and population & development planning with other countries.

Zhang Cuiling, associate researcher of the Department of Demographic Data Experiment of CPDRC, gave a topic speech on Gender and Adolescents, introducing a cooperated research of “Chinese Sex Ratio at Birth Quickly Tending to Normal Level” with Thomas Sobotka, senior researcher of Wittgenstein Center. By analyzing diverse data from government administration and vital registration, this research summarizes historical shift of China’s sex ratio at birth over the past three decades; reflects fast ratio decline and governance progress in many areas which suffered from abnormal sex ratio at birth in the past 15 years; and highlights birth order difference and the contribution of declining sex ratio at the birth of the second child to the overall decline.

In the light of Reproductive Health, Zou Yanhui from the Department of Demographic Research, made a speech themed “The Status quo, Tendency and Affecting Factors Analysis of China’ Unsatisfied Demands for Family Planning”. Based on global development history of the Unsatisfied Demands and analysis on China’s fertility data, this speech revealed and dug into unsatisfied demands of family planning among women at childbearing age in the past three decades, and suggested improving reproductive health services, especially for adolescents.

Huang Kuangshi, associate researcher of the Department of Strategic Research, delivered a report of Negative Population Growth and Economic Development. Based on forecast population data from World Bank and UN, this report made a historical demography analysis of population and economy in the countries with negative population growth, discovering the correlation between high income and negative population growth. Actually many countries’ fast economic growth weren’t hindered by negative population growth. Beyond population of determinism and population of irrelevance, the concept of population opportunity was proposed to regard population as opportunistic resources for economic development although its role may vary in different countries.

When addressing the closing ceremony, Tang Mengjun, head of the Department of International Cooperation, highly recognized this conference, emphasized the importance of South-South Cooperation, briefed responsibilities, construction and contribution of the South-South Excellence Center, and finally suggested such a meeting to be held among China and other Asian developing countries in turn.