BEIJING -- Premier Li Keqiang on Feb 27 urged prudent adjustment of China’s family planning policy to ensure a balanced population.

Adjustment of population policy complies with the people’s will and relates to economic and social development, and various authorities must promote the cause while insisting on the basic state policy in this area, according to Li.

China reformed its family planning policy in November, allowing couples to have two children if one of them is an only child. The policy had long limited most couples to only one child in order to control population growth.

Responding to Li’s remarks, Vice-Premier Liu Yandong on Feb 27 asked local authorities to scientifically implement the adjusted policy.

She said that excessive population growth has been effectively controlled due to China’s family planning in the past four decades, which helps relieve the pressure on the environment and resources and enhance the people’s living standards.

The vice-premier also stressed that possible “risks” in the policy implementation must be controlled and the total population must be restrained as scheduled.