TEMPO.CO, Beijing - China is currently deliberating the possibility of adjusting its one-child policy to allow couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, submitted the bill on altering and improving the family planning policy to the bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which runs from Monday through Saturday.

The new one-child policy is expected to be implemented in some of the nation’s provinces in the first quarter of 2014, said Yang Wenzhuang of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Yang added that health and family planning authorities are currently conducting risk assessment for this updated policy.

This policy adjustment comes after the State Council argued that China has been experiencing a steady decline of birth rate and changing demographics.

The nation’s birth rate has remained relatively low and showed a tendency to drop further. The rate has fallen to between 1.5 to 1.6 since the 1990s, which means each Chinese woman of child-bearing age gives birth to 1.5 to 1.6 children on average. The working population began to drop in 2012 by 3.45 million annually, and it is likely to plummet by eight million each year after 2023.

"If the current family planning policy persists, the birth rate will continue to fall and lead to a sharp drop of the total population after reaching a peak," said Li Bin, minister in charge of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, when briefing lawmakers.

ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | CNTV