"The post-70s are nearly at the end of their childbearing period. If they are not given the chance, they may never be able to have a second child."

Ctrip has more than 10,000 employees in Shanghai and 30,000 across the country. A number of employees have asked the company's human resources department for details of the loans, but so far no one has applied.

Liang said in a previous interview that "if no one applies for the loan, the situation is really serious, it means that people nowadays are not willing to have children anymore".

The loan offer is an attempt by the company to promote further reforms of the country's family planning policy.

According to figures released by the National Health and Family Planning Commission in January, only 1.07 million couples applied for permission to have a second child, which is less than 10 percent of the country's childbearing population.

Shanghai's Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning said at the end of January that only 5 percent of the city's women of childbearing age submitted applications last year.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning said around 30,000 couples in the capital submitted applications last year, though it had expected 50,000.

"The fact that only 10 percent of couples of childbearing age applied for permission would alarm any country," added Liang.

"Low fertility rates will cause a number of social and economic problems such as a decrease in the amount of labor and a weakening of the economy."

Social maintenance fees were introduced in the 1980s, and it is estimated that more than 20 billion yuan is collected annually.

Film director Zhang Yimou was fined 7.48 million yuan last year after admitting that he and his wife had three children before they were married.

shijing@chinadaily.com.cn