Two-child policy to add 0.5% in growth

BEIJING, Nov 10, (RTRS): China’s adoption of a two-child policy is expected to boost the country’s economic growth rate by about 0.5 of a percentage point, stemming from a rise in the size of its work force, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.

Wang Pei’an, vice minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, did not specify a time period for that growth target. Last week, President Xi Jinping said it is possible for the country to have annual economic growth of around 7 percent over the next five years.

“In the long-term, the positive effect on economic growth will be significant,” Wang told a news briefing.

Wang’s economic forecast came nearly two weeks after the ruling Chinese Communist Party announced it would further relax the long-standing and controversial “one-child policy”.