Q1: How many couples in China qualify under the new “two-child policy” conditions? Can we expect a baby boom as the result of the implementation of this policy?

A1: More than 11 million couples in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) today meet the conditions of the new “two-child policy”, allowing families a second child if one of the parents is an only child.

We do not however expect a baby boom. We know that many families would like to have a second child. According to a national survey in 29 Chinese provinces (except Qinghai province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region) by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, around 80% of Chinese families wish to have two children. Amongst those already having the first child, 60% of them wish to have one more. We can therefore expect a significant percentage of these couples to follow-through, conceive and have a second child, but this will be drawn out over time. The actual rate of applications is quite moderate and manageable: as of the end of June, 403,500 couples have applied for permission to have the second child, among which 337,000 applications have already been approved.