China will keep its population within 1.28 billion by the end of this year, a senior official said Monday.
Zhang Weiqing, minister in charge of the State Family Planning Commission, said at a work conference that China has fulfilled its target for the ninth Five-Year-Plan period (1996-2000), as its total population and population growth rate are lower than the targeted figures.
Since 1998, the country has maintained its low natural population growth rate of less than 10 per thousand.
Zhang said that in the next five years, the country will continue its family planning policies and keep a low birth rate.
According to the plan, by 2005, the country will have 1.33 billion people and the annual population growth rate will be lower than nine per thousand.
(Xinhua 12/26/2000)
