Ahead of China's latest census, experts had speculated that birth restrictions might be lifted entirely - though it appears as though China is treading cautiously.
But others said that such a move could potentially lead to "other problems" - pointing out the huge disparity between city dwellers and rural people. As much as women living in expensive cities such as Beijing and Shanghai may wish to delay or avoid childbirth, those in the countryside are likely to still follow tradition and want large families, they say.
Experts had warned that any impact on China's population, such as a decline, could have a vast effect on other parts of the world. Dr Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said: "China's economy has grown very quickly, and many industries in the world rely on China.
The scope of the impact of a population decline would be very wide. Why don't Chinese women want more babies? China's population grows at slowest pace in decades. The Chinese family in five charts. Image source, EPA.
It comes after a once-in-a-decade census showed that China's population grew at its slowest pace in decades. Also, some experts were sceptical of the impact. Very good questions. A study published earlier this year by academics from Zhejiang University and Beijing Normal University found the two-child policy encouraged wealthier couples who already had a child and were "less sensitive to child-rearing costs", while driving up the costs of child care and education and discouraging first-time parents.
Su Meizhen, a human resources manager in Beijing, said she was "super-happy" to be pregnant with her third child. This story corrects attribution of scientific paper in paragraph 22 to Zhejiang University and Beijing Normal University, not Hangzhou University. Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
More from Reuters. The cost of living puts too much pressure on them. Ling, who did not want his full name used to protect his privacy, works as a real estate agent.
But the job entails little beyond answering phones, escorting potential buyers to properties, with little chance of upward mobility. As China moves to allow couples to have up to three children, it is increasingly clear that the government will need to address the needs and concerns of people like Ling who would like to start families and have children but are pressured by a lack of education, living costs and barriers to movement such as the hukou system — realities of life in China that are dissuading many working couples from contemplating the idea of having more than one child, let alone two or three.
One reason is the cost of buying a house. Most men feel they need to have property before proposing marriage, so that is a major premarital barrier for a man and his extended family, which often helps pay for that first house. Though the parents of such workers often do help with home and childcare, the costs associated with healthcare as they age — along with child-rearing costs — are a huge burden.
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