China to Improve Population Policy Based on Actual Conditions

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　　Experts in China are suggesting a looser population policy is unlikely to create a surge of new births.

 

　　The suggestion is being made amid potential plans by the government to loosen up this country's family-planning rules this year.

 

　　CRI's Lucy Du has more.

 

　　China's family planning authority is on record saying it will gradually improve its population policies in accordance with actual conditions.

 

　　Deng Haihua is a spokesperson for the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

 

　　"Ample research and survey has been made on the adjustment of the existing policy. The commission will gradually improve the policy to adapt to economic and social development as well as the population development in the long run."

 

　　The comments come on word authorities might be looking to relax this country's family planning policies, commonly known as the "one-child" policy.

 

　　As it stands now, if a couple are the only child of the family, they're allowed to have two children.

 

　　New regulations under discussion might allow for two-children to be born to a family where only one of the parents is the only child.

 

　　Zhang Yi is a demographer¹ with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 

　　He says he believes a relaxed policy won't mean an explosion in the population.

 

　　"Under current policy many parents who are allowed to have a second child given that they are both the only child in their separate families have given up the idea. So even the policy is further loosened, not a lot of couples would choose to have a second child, due to their living pressure brought by the surging house price and the mounting cost to nurse a child."

 

　　Official stats show the birth rate here in China is still below international levels, with an average of 1.8-children being born to a family, compared with 2.1-children globally.

 

　　China is also facing an aging society.

 

　　Yuan Xin is a professor from the Institute for Population Studies at Nankai University.

 

　　"Small-sized families are venerable facing natural or man-made disasters. If the policy can be relaxed to some certain degree, it won't bring too much effect to the overall control of the population, but can effectively improve the structure of a single family. It benefits to the education and personality of children if they can have siblings²."

 

　　Most analysis is suggesting population figures here in China will peak at 1.5-billion people by 2025.

 

　　It's believed that around 400-million less people have been born in China since the "one-child" policy was first introduced in the late 1970's.

 

　　For CRI, this is Lucy Du.

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