Ministry denies rolling out nationwide two-child policy as early as this year

Li Shuchun, 4, and his 7-month-old brother Li Shuhan, live in Beijing with their parents who are among the 1.07 million out of 11 million eligible couples applied to have a second child by the end of last year. [Photo by Wang Nina/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The new policy will be probably rolled out in next year, or the first year of the 13th Five-Year-Plan period," Lu Jiehua, professor of sociology at Peking University, told Beijing Morning Post Wednesday.

Lu said an overall two-child policy could help China slow its aging trend. He believed that the new policy should come as early as possible but it is not likely that the policy could be finalized and released within this year.

Wang Guangzhou, researcher at the Institute of Population and Labor Economics under the the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also voiced support to the further relaxation in the policy.

In 2012, Wang advised China to skip the transitional policy and pilot a program allowing a second child for all couples in some provinces.

By the end of last year, China had 915.8 million workforce-age people from 16 to 59, a decline of 3.71 million from the previous year and the third drop in a row.

More people nowadays prefer small families, said Lu. Other factors such as finances, housing, education and age are also involved in making birth plans.

Official statistics showed that only 1.07 million out of the 11 million eligible couples applied to have a second child by the end of 2014.