China to leave two-child policy implementation details to provinces

BEIJING - China's top family planning authority said on Friday that the government will leave details of implementing a new policy allowing all couples to have two children to each province.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said in an online statement that couples who qualify for a second child must still seek approvals from authorities - but vowed to further simplify the approval procedure. The expected population growth will not impact China's strategic environmental resource goals despite pressure on resources, it added.

Ninety million couples qualify under the new policy, which comes after decades of a strict one-child policy, the commission added, saying it expects a labour force aged between 15-59 years to rise by about 30 million by 2050, stabilising expectations for economic growth.