The universal two-child policy "should not be the end of the family-planning policy adjustment", and further relaxation¹ is expected to ease the population challenges China is facing, according to experts.

有关专家近日声称，全面二孩政策“不应该成为生育政策调整的终点”，要缓解我国面临的人口挑战，政策还需进一步放宽。

"A dwindling² workforce³ population and an aging population are inevitable⁴ in China, and a further adjustment of the family-planning policy is needed, based on consistent monitoring of births," according to the Green Book of Population and Labor 2016, which was released by the Population and Labor Economics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last Wednesday.

中国社科院人口与劳动经济研究所上周三发布的《2016人口与劳动绿皮书》指出：“我国劳动力人口数量萎缩和人口老龄化问题不可避免，需要持续监测生育行为，进一步调整生育政策。”

The latest family-planning policy, which allows all couples to have two children, will not result in a big population increase, due to reasons such as a reduced willingness to give birth and the increased ages of eligible⁵ women, said Zhang Chewei, director of the institute and an author of the book.

中国社科院人口与劳动经济研究所所长、该书作者张车伟称，由于符合政策的妇女生育意愿降低、年龄上升等原因，近年出台的全面二孩政策并不会带来人口数量的大幅增加。

As a result, the universal two-child policy will not effectively ease the social and economic challenges China is facing, such as a reduced workforce and a population that is rapidly aging, he said.

他表示，结果就是全面二孩政策不能有效地缓解我国面临的如劳动力人口萎缩和人口迅速老龄化等社会和经济方面的挑战。

"Judging from the experiences of some other countries, with people continuously delaying marriage and pregnancy⁶, it is possible that Chinese people's willingness to give birth will continue to decrease," Zhang said.

张车伟说道：“从其他国家以往的经验来看，随着人们婚姻和怀孕的不断推迟，中国人生育意愿有可能仍将继续降低。”

"China may need to further relax its family-planning policy in the future, and it may even abolish restrictions⁷ on birth."

“我国可能在未来需要进一步放宽计划生育政策，甚至可能取消关于生育的诸多限制。”