Shandong plans to end age restrictions of women who can apply to have a second child according to a draft of its new family planning regulations. Experts said that the possible policy change has nothing to do with the loosening of the second-child limit in Shandong.

A woman who applies to have a second child must be at least 30 years old and be older than 25 when she had her first child, according to the current family planning regulations in Shandong. 

Applicants for a second child must also meet other criteria set by Shandong family planning regulations. Parents from rural areas whose first child is a girl and couples who are both single children are among those who are qualified to have a second child.

Authorities are seeking public opinion on the draft regulations until March 25.

A provincial legal affairs office denied the proposed changes to the regulations signal a loosening of restrictions on families wanting a second child, the Shandong-based Qilu Evening News reported.

Liang Zhongtang, a former expert with the National Population and Family Planning Commission and a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the criteria allowing couples to have a second child should be loosened, rather than eliminating age restrictions of women seeking to have a second child.

"Loosening the one-child policy has become a hot topic and some people thought a two-child policy may replace the current family planning strategy," Liang said. Song Jian, a researcher of the Population Development Studies Center of the Renmin University of China, said the proposed change will only benefit women who are disqualified from having a second child because of their age.

"Without the age restriction women who meet the second-child criteria can give birth to their second child before they are 30, which is safer for them," Song said.

The ideal childbearing age for women is between 25 and 28 years old and women over 35 who become pregnant bring dangers to themselves and their child, said Lu Dan, senior doctor at Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital.

A decline in the working population and the increase in the number of elderly citizens stirred heated discussions on China's one-child policy.

The central government, however, plans to keep its family planning policy unchanged.

Wang Feng, deputy head of the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform, told a press conference Monday in response to a question regarding the possibility of a change in the policy.

Wang said the proposed national health and family planning commission will strengthen implementation of the family planning policy in aspects of institutional setup, personnel and function allocation, reported Xinhua.