China's Two-Child Policy Shows How Much It Counts on Kids

China formally ended its one-child policy and now allows couples to have up to two children.

The move appears to signal that the communist country is responding to an aging population and shrinking workforce, said the Washington Post. China's fertility rate of 1.4 children per woman is well behind many other nations in the developed world.

The one-child policy, which has been in place since 1980, has resulted in a substantial decline in young labor for China's growing economy.

"Even though it came way too late, this really marks a historic point to end one of the most controversial and costly policies in human history," said Wang Feng of the University of California at Irvine. "But China for decades to come will have to live with the aftermath of this costly policy."

Liang Zhongtang of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science said the policy had been outdated years ago, according to the Asia Times.

"The core issue is not about one child or two children," said Liang. "It's about reproductive freedom. It's about basic human rights. In the past, the government failed to grasp the essence of the issue."

The country's one-child police prevented an estimated 400 million births while couples that violated it were punished by fines and the loss of employment, and in some cases forced abortions, said BBC News.

The policy had been relaxed in some provinces to respond to worker shortages and cost.


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