China: No plan for couples to have as many kids as they want
China has no plans to allow couples to have as many kids as they want after changing the rules to allow all couples to have two children rather than one, a health official said Tuesday.
China's population reached 1.375 billion last year and it has to consider its large population and stress on resources when making decisions, said Li Bin, director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
Starting this year, China has relaxed its decades-old family planning policy to allow all married couples to have two children. Before, it limited most urban couples to one child and rural couples to two if their first was a girl.
"We don't have a specific timetable" to abolish the family planning policy, "a basic state policy," Li told reporters at a news conference during an annual meeting of China's legislature.
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A child walks near government propaganda one of which reads "1.3 billion people united" on the streets of Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. China has no plans to allow couples to have as many kids as they want after changing the rules to allow all couples to have two children rather than one, a health official said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) -
A man stands near government propaganda promoting filial piety on the streets of Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. China has no plans to allow couples to have as many kids as they want after changing the rules to allow all couples to have two children rather than one, a health official said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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