China has scrapped its one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children for the first time in more than three decades, official media has reported.
The announcement was made at the close of a Communist party meeting focused on financial reforms and maintaining growth at a time of heightened concerns over the country’s economy.
China will “fully implement a policy of allowing each couple to have two children as an active response to an ageing population”, a statement published by Xinhua news agency on Thursday said. There were no immediate details on the new policy or a timeframe for its implementation.
For months there has been speculation that Beijing was preparing to abandon the divisive family planning rule, which was introduced by Communist party leaders in 1980 because of fears of a population boom.
The government credits it with preventing 400m births, but the human cost has been immense, with forced sterilisations and abortions, infanticide, and a dramatic gender imbalance that means millions of men will never find female partners.
Categories: China