Universal two-child policy to promote a balanced population development

Source: en.nhfpc.gov.cn

Updated: 2015-10-30

It is decided by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee that China will continue to uphold the basic national policy of family planning and improve its strategy on population development. The policy that all couples may have two children will be implemented and the challenge of the aging population will be addressed in a proactive manner. These major initiatives are taken by the Party Central Committee based on scientific evidence of demographic, economic and social development patterns，and regarded as of strategic importance for promoting a balanced population growth and achieving the long-term development of the Chinese nation. The universal two-child policy will help to optimize the population structure, increase labor supply and mitigate the pressure of an aging population. It will facilitate sustainable and healthy economic development so as to achieve the goal of a comprehensive well-off society. It will also help to better implement the basic national policy of family planning, and promote family happiness and social harmony.

The Party Central Committee has always attached great importance to population issues. Family planning has been identified as a basic national policy in the light of our national conditions. With the joint efforts of the whole Party and society, our work in family planning has made remarkable achievements, strongly promoting economic growth, social progress and people’s well-being and laying a solid foundation for the comprehensive efforts of building a well-off society. Contributions made by the general public, the planned families and family-planning professionals are well acknowledged.

Now in the new century, the population growth in China has been experiencing major change. The total population growth has clearly dropped and the population of working age is beginning to shrink. Population aging is accelerated while the function of families in supporting the elderly and the young is weakened. To promote the long-term balanced development of the population, the Party Central Committee has refined the fertility policies as appropriate， in a timely way. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Party Central Committee decided that a couple may have two children if one of them is from a single child family. With this policy steadily implemented and based on the updates in population, economic and social development, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Party Central Committee decides to further implement the universal two-child policy. As required by the Central Committee, the National Health and Family Planning Commission and relevant government departments have conducted a series of on-site and in-depth studies, extensively consulted experts, local officials and peoples, and made comparisons as well as analysis on various candidate approaches and scenarios.

Learning and carrying out the decisions of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Party Central Committee, we shall fully align our thinking and actions with the Party Central Committee’s guidance. Governance reform of family planning services will be deepened to increase efficiency and facilitate access to the services. Supply of public services will be strengthened and the service quality in reproductive health, women and children’s health and young children’s caring will be upgraded. Assistance to families that have practiced family-planning but later encountered specific difficulties will be intensified. Fundamental efforts of family-planning at the grassroot level, such as birth population monitoring, will be reinforced to ensure the steady and sound implementation of the universal two-child policy. We are committed to translating this policy into specific actions as it can benefit the people and contribute to the long-term growth, thus creating a favorable demographic context to achieve the great victory in the decisive stage of building a comprehensively well-off society.