China considers paying couples to have second child

China is considering financial rewards for couples to have a second baby after nearly four decades of its one-child policy.

However, the increase of 1.3 million births has fallen short of projections that up to three million extra babies would be born every year for the next five years, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Officials have already considered reforms including building nurseries at workplaces and extending maternity leave. However, research has shown that the financial burden of a second child is the top reason for parents not extending their families.

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Wang Pei'an, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said: "To have a second child is the right of each family in China, but affordability has become a bottleneck that undermines the decision."

He also said "birth rewards and subsidies" would be considered for the first time, reports the China Daily.

However, critics say limited public resources mean such a move would be damaging. Professor Yuan Xin, of Nankai University in Tianjin, said: "It's not the right time to introduce any financial incentive plans."

Japan has already introduced a raft of incentives to try an increase the birth rate, including cash subsidies, prolonged maternity leave, tax discounts and child and healthcare benefits.