China’s one-child policy: Putting all eggs in one basket

Bowing to the social pressures brought on the decades-old one-child policy, the Chinese government relaxed the law last year, allowing select families to have two. But most couples prefer to have just one.

In the face of a growing aged population, China has loosened its one-child policy – but no one is sure if it will solve the problems it has created.

China’s Communist Party leaders have praised their one-child policy for preventing the population from spiralling out of control, but critics say it has spawned decades of forced abortions, infanticide and child trafficking. The world’s most populous country with nearly 1.4 billion people, the party says the policy has averted 400 million births since 1980, saving scarce food resources and helping to pull families out of poverty.