The government in China plans to end its one-child per family policy and instead let families have two children.

中国政府计划结束每个家庭独生子女政策，允许每个家庭可以拥有两个孩子。

The plan was announced Thursday after high-level political meetings in Beijing. The official Xinhua news agency says the country's top legislature must approve the proposal before it becomes law.

周四，在北京举行高层政治会议后，该计划被宣布。中国官方媒体新华社报道，在将它定为法律之前，该提案必须得到国家最高立法机关的批准。

FILE - A Chinese woman cuddles her child in Beijing. China announced Thursday it was ending its long-standing one-child policy and will now allow all couples to have two children. (2014 AP PHOTO)

A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development. It said the move also attempts to stop a declining birth rate and strengthen the country's work force.

在一份中国共产党的声明中发表了政策变化的一些原因。该声明表示，这一变化是为了平衡人口发展。它声称，此举还试图阻止出生率不断下降并增加本国劳动力。

China- the world's most populous country - launched the one-child policy in 1980. But the government permitted only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some rural families were given approval to have two children.

中国——世界上人口最多的国家，于1980年推出独生子女政策，但政府只允许少数家庭生育两个孩子。例如，一些获得批准的农村家庭，可以拥有两个孩子。

A total of 19 rural provinces have a partial two-child policy. That policy states if the first-born is a girl, a second child is permitted.

共有19个农业省份开放部分二胎政策。政策提出，如果第一胎是女孩，则允许有第二个孩子的。

In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children. Families could have two if one parent was an only child.

在2013年，中国政府给予其他夫妻可以生育两个孩子的机会。如果父母一方是独生子女，该家庭可以生育两个孩子。

A teacher and population expert, Jiang Quanbao, explained how Chinese families will react to the policy.

姜全保，教授及人口专家，他解释道中国家庭将如何应对该政策。

"Too many young people in the cities are probably no longer interested in having a second child," he said. "People in rural farming villages may be more interested. But again, some of them are already allowed to have two children."

他说：“在城市里，太多年轻人可能不再有兴趣生育第二个孩子，而在农村的人们可能会更感兴趣。但同样，他们中的一些已经被允许生育两个孩子。”

At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them are employed. But that job market population is expected to drop by 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births will ease the labor shortage, starting in 20 years.

在2014年底，中国有13.7亿人口，其中总共有800万人就业。但预计到2050年，就业市场的人口数量将有所下降，但近20年间，出生率的增加将缓解劳动力短缺的状况。

 I'm Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·马特奥。

Joyce Huang reported on this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

boost – v. to increase the force, power or amount of something

populous– adj. having a large population

province– n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

The government in China plans to end its one-child per family policy and instead let families have two children.

The plan was announced Thursday after high-level political meetings in Beijing. The official Xinhua news agency says the country's top legislature must approve the proposal before it becomes law.

A Chinese Communist Party statement gave a number of reasons for the change in policy. The statement said the change is meant to balance population development. It said the move also attempts to stop a declining birth rate and strengthen the country's work force.

China- the world's most populous country - launched the one-child policy in 1980. But the government permitted only a small number of couples to have two children. For example, some rural families were given approval to have two children.

A total of 19 rural provinces have a partial two-child policy. That policy states if the first-born is a girl, a second child is permitted.

In 2013, the Chinese government gave other couples a chance to have two children. Families could have two if one parent was an only child.

A teacher and population expert, Jiang Quanbao, explained how Chinese families will react to the policy.

"Too many young people in the cities are probably no longer interested in having a second child," he said. "People in rural farming villages may be more interested. But again, some of them are already allowed to have two children."

At the end of 2014, China had a population of 1.37 billion people. A total of 800 million of them are employed. But that job market population is expected to drop by 2050. With the two-child policy, an increase in births will ease the labor shortage, starting in 20 years.

I'm Anna Matteo.

Joyce Huang reported on this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

boost – v. to increase the force, power or amount of something

populous– adj. having a large population

province– n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into