BEIJING (May 31): China said on Monday that married couples may have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world's most populous country. "To further optimise the birth policy, (China) will implement a one-married-couple-can-have-three-children policy," the official Xinhua news agency said in a report following a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping. "People are held back not by the two-children limit, but by the incredibly high costs of raising children in today's China. "I am willing to have three children if you give me five million yuan (US$785,650)," one user posted. Data also showed a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per woman for 2020 alone, on a par with ageing societies like Japan and Italy.

Source: The Edge Markets May 31, 2021 07:44 UTC