The price of shares in companies making baby food and nappies soared on news the government is to end the decades-old one-child policy and allow all couples to have a second child.

Walt Disney called it "good timing" as the US entertainment giant is preparing to open a theme park in Shanghai. But the weekend was likely to have been only the beginning of heated discussions about whether to have a second child or not among some of the nearly 90 million eligible Chinese families.

If the country is to see the labor force - those aged between 15 and 59 - grow by about 30 million by 2050, Chinese policymakers should not underestimate the difficulties in reversing the plunging birth rate.