China’s Growing Family

The new family-planning policy under which all couples may have two children has been a hot topic of discussion since it was announced in late October. The change marks another major family planning policy shift.

The policy has evolved over the past decades. Beginning in the late 1970s， most urban couples were limited to one child， and most rural couples to two children if the first child was a girl. The government eased the policy in the early 21st century to allow parents to have a second child if they were both only children before being further relaxed in 2013 to allow couples to have two children if either of them was an only child. The latest relaxation not only reflects the publics wishes but also concerns about the countrys future development.

Official statistics show the number of people over 60 years old had reached 212 million at the end of 2014， accounting for 15.5 percent of Chinas total population. According to the UN， a country or region with people aged upward of 60 accounting for over 10 percent of the total population can be defined as an aging society.

Thus， China is already an aging society. If Chinas demographic policy is not adjusted accordingly， its senior population will peak by the middle of this century to surpass 400 million. By then， there will be one senior citizen for every three people.

This family planning policy change will also have a big impact on the economys growth rate. The demographic dividend represented by the large proportion of working-age population to the total population has contributed to Chinas rapid economic growth in recent decades. However， as aging becomes a prominent problem with the change of the population structure， the demographic dividend is disappearing. From the economic growth perspective， the “two-child policy” will help provide a larger workforce and keep the talent pool stable.

Additionally， the new policy is benefi cial for childrens personal development. One of the major controversies surrounding the one-child generation is that children grow up in an environment without siblings. Such an environment is often blamed for problems in regard to social skills and norms relating to value systems， such as sharing. The new policy will fundamentally change this situation.

In light of these economic and social considerations， the latest shift in Chinas family planning policy is a timely change that conforms to the laws of demographics， sociology and economics.