Most couples don't want to expand their families, ifthe low number applying for a second child in Beijingunder today's rules is an indicator of parentalthinking.

　　Even if a couple is eligible, under the current policy,for a second offspring because one parent is anonly child, only about 10 percent seek more children,according to data released on Friday by the BeijingMunicipal Commission of Health and Family Planning.

　　周五，根据北京市卫生和计划生育委员会发布的数据显示，尽管在现有政策下许多一方为独生子女的夫妻都满足生二胎的资格，只有10%的家庭申请生二胎。

　　By the end of October, 55,851 qualified couples applied to health authorities in Beijing to havea second child since the city adopted the policy in February last year, the commission said.Thatis roughly one-tenth of the estimated 550,000 couples who are eligible under that standard, setin 2013.

　　自去年二月北京允许生二胎以来，截至到10月末，北京共有55851对夫妻向卫生局申请生二胎。但是，根据2013年的数据，北京共有55万对夫妻满足生二胎的资格，但是申请人数才刚刚到十分之一。

　　Previously, a second child in most urban areas of China was restricted to parents who wereboth only children.

　　之前，在中国的大部分城市地区，只有双独夫妻才能申请生二胎。

　　The central government further relaxed the policy last month, allowing all couples in China tohave two children. The change must still be approved by the National People's Congress, thetop legislature, before it becomes law.

　　上个月，政府放宽政策，允许非独生子女家庭也可以生二胎。该提议需要经人民代表大会通过才能载入法律中。

　　By the end of May, 1.45 million couples with one parent being an only child had applied to havea second baby, accounting for about 13 percent of all eligible couples, according to the NationalHealth and Family Planning Commission.

　　根据中华人民共和国国家卫生和计划生育委员会的数据，截至到5月底，夫妻中有一位为独生子女的夫妻申请二胎的为145万对，占到符合条件总人数的13%。

　　The number of eligible couples applying to have a second child in the country has increasedbetween 80,000 and 90,000 every month, the commission said.

　　委员会称，符合条件且申请的人数每月能上涨8万到9万个家庭。

　　Yuan Xin, an expert in population studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, said that with thedevelopment of the Chinese economy and society over the past several decades, thetraditional concept of having more children has changed and more people are opting for fewerchildren, especially in big cities such as Beijing.

　　袁欣是天津南开大学的人口专家。他认为，随着过去几十年中国经济和社会的发展，传统的生子观念已经发生改变，越来越多的人不想多生小孩，尤其是在比较大的城市，例如在北京。

　　"It has been a mainstream concept among Beijing residents to give birth to fewer children afterdecades of the family planning policies the city adopted in the 1970s", and allowing all couples tohave two children will improve the population structure of Beijing and maintain the vitality ofsociety, the Beijing commission said.

　　北京计划生育委员会表示：“一直以来，自20世纪70年代施行计划生育以来，北京居民的主流想法就是少生孩子。”生二胎能够改善人口结构，让北京保持社会活力。

　　The city will amend its population laws and improve family planning services, such as buildingmore maternal care and nursery institutes and kindergartens, to cope with an increase in births,it said.

　　该委员会称，北京将会修订人口法，提高家庭计划服务，例如建造更多的孕妇保健和护理机构和幼儿园，以应对新生儿人口增加。