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World media reacts to China's decision to end one-child policy

Source: Xinhua | October 31, 2015, Saturday | Online Edition

CHINA'S decision to abandon the decades-long one-child policy has drawn significant attention from media outlets worldwide.

BBC said couples will now be allowed to have two children, citing report from China's official Xinhua News Agency.

The decision to allow families to have two children was designed "to improve the balanced development of population" and to deal with an aging population, according to a statement from the Communist Party's Central Committee carried by Xinhua on Thursday, BBC said.

BBC also noted that the party began formally relaxing national rules two years ago, allowing couples to have a second child if at least one of the pair is an only child.

The New York Times (NYT) described it as a "dramatic" step away from a core Communist Party position that former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said was need to ensure that the "fruits of economic growth are not devoured by population growth".

The article also cited the statement issued after a party meeting as saying that abolishing the one-child policy would increase labor supply, ease pressures from an aging population and will benefit sustained and healthy economic development.

Besides, the NYT article quoted experts as saying that the cost and difficulty of child-rearing are likely to deter many eligible couples from having two children despite the relaxed rules.

However, The Associated Press (AP) quoted Citigroup researchers as saying that they expect a 5 percent to 10 percent rise in Chinese births.

The AP article also stressed potential economic impacts of the policy, saying that the policy change is a boon to "sellers of good from formula to diapers to toys."

Noting that the impact of the "surprise change" is expected to be gradual, AP said the decision coincides with official efforts to encourage economic growth based on consumer spending.

With incomes rising in the world's most populous country, even a small upstick in births could translate into higher demand from Chinese that could ripple around the world, the article said.

A Reuters article also focused on the economic impacts, particularly an immediate one. With the title "China shares up after one-child policy change, dairy stocks jump", the article said China stocks were bolstered on Friday after the party announced the government would partially relax its regulation on population.

"The CSI300 index rose 0.2 percent, to 3,541.78 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent, to 3,391.41 points," Reuters said. 

Reuters' article is echoed by Agence France Presse (AFP), which reported stock investors cheered the news, pushing up listed Chinese companies which offer products for children.

Even Disney could have a finger in the pie, according to AFP report. Walt Disney chief Robert Iger said China scrapping its one-child policy is "good timing" as the US entertainment giant prepares to open a theme park in Shanghai.

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