China is having a rather difficult time in convincing the Chinese to have a second child due to the rising cost of education and health care.

Around one million couples out of the targeted two million applications were willing to add another child to their families a year after China eased its one-child policy, the state-run media said on Monday.

Like Us on Facebook

Experts said the low  number of applications was reflective of the Chinese reluctance to add a second child for various reasons.

China had relaxed  its family planning policies last year by setting a goal of 2 million new babies yearly.

Analysts said China will highly unlikely meet its goal of two million babies yearly because of various reasons.

Many traditional Chinese believed that this zodiac year of the sheep which would start in February is not a good year for childbirth.

Added to this, analysts said many Chinese have opted to not apply for a second child because of the rising cost of living and financial difficulties the parents are set to face  in raising another child.

China's Family Planning Commission said the applications were in line with their expectations but analysts said fewer people than expected had applied.

Analysts said it is highly unlikely that China will be able to meet its target number of new babies for as long as the costs of bringing a baby into this world keep rising.

Many Chinese have expressed grave concern over the fewer applications noting that their country could face a demographic crisis with a declining birth rate. Observers said China should scrap its family planning restrictions  altogether if it wants to meet its target yearly.

China has relaxed its 0ne-child policy last year, allowing couples to have another child if either of the parents is the sole child in their family.

The relaxation policy started in the Zhejiang  province in January last year and was implemented across the country in stages in the whole mainland in the same year.

Although China is the world's most populous nation at 1.3 billion people, experts said its one-child policy implemented over the years has shrunk the labor force and hurt economic growth.

TagsOne Child Policy, family planning, second child