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No change to one-child rule: China

China will not consider changing its one-child policy for at least another decade, the country's top family planning official said in an interview published yesterday.

Zhang Weiqing (張維慶) of the State Population and Family Planning Commission told the China Daily that China's one-child rule should be maintained for now.

"Given such a large population base, there would be major fluctuations in population growth if we abandoned the one-child rule now," the newspaper quoted him as saying in a front-page story. "It would cause serious problems and add extra pressure on social and economic development."

Any change in the policy would be considered only after the end of the country's next birth peak in 10 years, Zhang said, adding "after the new birth peak ends, we may adjust the policy if there is need."

Over the next decade, nearly 200 million people are expected to enter childbearing years.

The one-child policy, launched during the late 1970s, has prevented an additional 400 million births. China's population currently stands at 1.3 billion, growing by 16 million to 17 million annually.

The one-child limit applies to only a portion of the population. In general, urban couples are restricted to one while rural couples are allowed up to two if their first child is a girl. Ethnic minorities are also exempt from these rules.

Zhang's remarks, made on the sidelines of the National People's Congress and published in several papers, were clearly aimed at slapping down recent reports that the country was considering scrapping the policy. Several officials have suggested an overhaul of the policy might be forthcoming since Beijing has slowed population growth.

"Getting rid of the one-child policy now would create more problems than it would solve," Zhang said.
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