China has eased the current two-child restriction to allow couples to have a third child, according to Bloomberg. The move is aimed at slowing the country’s dwindling birth rate as a quickly aging population scales pressure on its economy’s long-term expectations.
At a meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping, Communist Party’s Politburo allowed couples to have three children, promising support to help improve the population structure.
Major policy measures will be implemented in the period to 2025 but there is no exact date for the move to take effect.
China has embraced strict birth policies, initially limiting families to one child, allowing a second one in 2016.
The reforms to allow for more children did not help much in reversing declining birth rates and further easing of the limits is not an assurance for a steady rise.
Researchers and government officials have requested birth limits be completely eliminated as the national census showed a decline in China’s working-age population.
China’s population is currently at 1.41billion and may begin to further decline before 2025.
China welcomed 12 million babies last year, the lowest on record since 1961.
