Beijing, Aug 3 (IANS): China is still deliberating whether to further relax the country's one-child policy, a spokesman for the country's health and family planning authority said.

Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, made the statement in response to media attention on China's population policies, Xinhua reported Friday.

The current policy requires that to have a second child, the father and the mother must be both only children.

He explained that because the country's basic conditions still include a huge population, weak economic foundations, sparse per capita resources and insufficient environmental capacity, the population will continue to put pressure on and strain the economy, society, resources and the environment.

To improve population policies, Mao said, China must maintain the current low birth rate while also taking into consideration the public's needs, social and economic development, and changes in the population structure.