China’s new two-child policy legislation formally comes into force

Married couples in China will from Friday be allowed to have two children, after concerns over an ageing population and shrinking workforce ushered in an end to the country’s controversial one-child policy.

The change, which was announced in October by the ruling Communist Party, takes effect from January 1, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported over the weekend.

READ MORE: Kids are alright: China allows two children for all couples, ending decades-old policy

The “one child policy”, instituted in the late 1970s, restricted most couples to only a single offspring through a system of fines for violators and even forced abortions.

The authorities argued for decades that it was a key contributor to China’s economic boom and had prevented 400 million births.

Rural families were allowed two children if the first was a girl, while ethnic minorities were allowed an extra offspring, leading some to dub it a “one-and-a-half child” policy.

But it also led to heart-rending tales of loss for would-be parents and prompted sex-selective abortions or infanticide targeting girls because of a centuries-old social preference for boys.