A Chinese official said in Beijing Tuesday that the worsening imbalance in the sex-ratio of newborns in China was not a result of the country's 33-year-long family planning policy.

The official admitted that the two are "related" and that "the family planning policy has contributed to the imbalance."

"But that is not to say the policy has led to a rise in the imbalance," Zhang Weiqing, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, told a press briefing.

The official blamed several factors for the growing imbalance in the ratio, including Chinese people's traditional preference for boys, lower levels of development and an inadequate social security network in rural areas, and the excessive use of ultrasound technology.

China's gender ratio for newborn babies in 2005 was 118 boys for 100 girls, compared with 110:100 in 2000. In some regions, the figure has reached 130 newborn boys for every 100 girls.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2007)