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PRIVACY
Opinionopinion

The dawn of a new era in China, maybe?

Many of the bigger issues of the change programme proposes are aimed at the economy - heading off the perfect storm some westerners forecast.

China's President Xi Jinping

Sometimes, you know, it's just easier to run with the cliché.

For the last few days Beijing enjoyed bright winter sunshine, clear blue skies and not a smidgeon of the smog for which it has become notorious.

If President Xi could actually control the weather he could hardly have provided himself with such an agreeable backdrop to the reform ( or is it more properly 'change') programme that he and colleagues announced to the world a week or so ago.

For reasons which frankly escape me China's five year planning process and the ten year life span of political administration run out of kilter. So three years into the plan itself, the new bossses - in office since March - now get the chance to set their own stamp on the country' future direction.

The proposed changes with regard to family size have taken the headlines overseas.

The 'one child' policy of the last 34 years means that China has an ageing population placing increasing demands in terms of social welfare - together with a shrinking workforce.

Some easing of the policy is being proposed to help address this. The how, and the when, of the change have not been set down and the English language papers in Beijing emphasise this.

Apparently the current rules say that where both parents are themselves only children, they already may have two children of their own - but shouldn't that cover pretty well everyone by now?