4 population zones planned

China has rolled out a new program for the development of four functional population zones. Its purpose is rational demographic distribution and migration, the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) said.

"This is the first time China has drawn up a system of crucial measures to comprehensively address the nation's population issue," Li Bin, minister of the NPFPC, said on Saturday at the annual meeting of the China Population Association.

Classifications are based on the resources, environment and social and economic conditions in different areas, Li said.