Editing One-child policy (section)

===Relaxation===
In 2013, Deputy Director Wang Peian of the [[National Health and Family Planning Commission]] said that "China's population will not grow substantially in the short term."<ref>{{Citation |last=Burkitt |first=Laurie |title=China to Move Slowly on One-Child Law Reform |date=17 November 2013 |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303755504579203853048322532 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203191355/http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303755504579203853048322532 |url-status=live |edition=online |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> A survey by the commission found that only about half of eligible couples wish to have two children, mostly because of the cost of living impact of a second child.<ref name="nyt-20140225">{{Cite news |last=Levin |first=Dan |date=25 February 2014 |title=Many in China Can Now Have a Second Child, but Say No |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/world/asia/many-couples-in-china-will-pass-on-a-new-chance-for-a-second-child.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226120847/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/world/asia/many-couples-in-china-will-pass-on-a-new-chance-for-a-second-child.html |archive-date=26 February 2014}}</ref>

In November 2013, following the Third Plenum of the [[18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP), China announced the decision to relax the one-child policy. Under the new policy, families could have two children if one parent, rather than both parents, was an only child.<ref>{{Citation |title=China reforms: One-child policy to be relaxed |date=15 November 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24957303 |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131119040239/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24957303 |url-status=live |place=[[United Kingdom|UK]] |publisher=BBC |archive-date=19 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=27 January 2015 |title=Why is China relaxing its one-child policy? |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/12/economist-explains-8 |url-status=live |access-date=27 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211211450/http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/12/economist-explains-8 |archive-date=11 February 2015}}</ref> This mainly applied to urban couples, since there were very few rural, only children due to long-standing exceptions to the policy for rural couples.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Xinhua Insight: Heated discussion over loosening of one-child policy |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-11/16/c_132893697_2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121174831/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-11/16/c_132893697_2.htm |archive-date=21 January 2015 |website=Xinhua net}}</ref> Zhejiang, one of the most affluent provinces, became the first area to implement this "relaxed policy" in January 2014,<ref name="reu">{{Cite news |date=17 January 2014 |title=Eastern Chinese province first to ease one-child policy |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-onechild-idUSBREA0G0J220140117 |url-status=live |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151014112550/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/17/us-china-onechild-idUSBREA0G0J220140117 |archive-date=14 October 2015}}</ref> and 29 out of the 31 provinces had implemented it by July 2014,<ref name=cd/> with the exceptions of Xinjiang and Tibet. Under this policy, approximately 11{{nbsp}}million couples in China were allowed to have a second child; however, only "nearly one million" couples applied to have a second child in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |title=1 mln Chinese couples apply to have second child |url=http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-01/12/content_19297390.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123195029/http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-01/12/content_19297390.htm |archive-date=23 January 2015 |access-date=14 January 2015 |website=China daily}}</ref> less than half the expected number of 2 million per year.<ref name="cd">{{Citation |title=China daily |date=Feb 2014 |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-07/10/content_17706811.htm |access-date=14 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123200526/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-07/10/content_17706811.htm |url-status=live |archive-date=23 January 2015}}</ref> By May 2014, 241,000 out of 271,000 applications had been approved. Officials of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission claimed that this outcome was expected, and that the "second-child policy" would continue progressing with a good start.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Yamei |date=2014 |title=11 million couples qualify for a second child |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/video/2014-07/10/c_133475240.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914124938/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/video/2014-07/10/c_133475240.htm |archive-date=14 September 2014 |access-date=10 December 2014 |website=Xinhua News}}</ref>