China is not considering a broadrelaxation of its strict one-child policy despite an easing ofexisting rules since it would be too disruptive, the healthministry said on Saturday.
The government announced on Friday that it would allowmillions of families to have two children in the country's mostsignificant liberalization of its strict one-child policy inabout three decades. China, the world's most populous nation,has nearly 1.4 billion people.
Couples in which one parent is an only child will now beable to have a second child, one of the highlights of a sweepingpackage of reforms announced after the ruling Communist Partyheld a key meeting that mapped out policy for the next decade.
The plan to ease the policy was envisioned by the governmentabout five years ago as officials worried that the strictcontrols were undermining economic growth and contributing to arapidly ageing population the country had no hope of supportingfinancially.
In a statement carried on the ministry's website, deputydirector Wang Peian said if everyone were suddenly allowed tohave two children it would cause too many problems.
"Adjusting and perfecting family planning policy is not thesame as abandoning it," he said.