Chinese State Councillor Hua Jianmin says China will keep implementing its Family Planning Policy and control the birth rate. Rural families who abide by the policy will get cash rewards.

Hua Jianmin made the remarks at a conference Friday in Beijing.

He stressed the Chinese government will attach more financial aid for the implementation of family planning policy. The new policy will provide cash rewards to rural families who abide to the policy, adding a "reward" element to the purely "punitive" system.

He said China will also keep a keen eye on the population structure and people's education.

Under the new family planning policy, rural couples with only one child or two daughters will be eligible for a cash reward of about 600 yuan or 72 US dollars each year when they turn 60 years old. This payment will continue for the rest of their lives.

China's family planning policy, which was launched in the late 1970s, used to impose heavy fines on those who violated it. It is credited with reducing the country's population by an estimated 300 million. Enditem

Source: CRI News