China parents shun baby ad offers

Statisticians calculated Yichi was China's 1.3 billionth citizen

The parents of a baby declared China's 1.3 billionth citizen have refused to cash in on the opportunity, Chinese media report.

Zhang Yichi was born to a media blitz last Thursday and attracted several lucrative offers to appear in nappy and milk formula advertisements.

But his parents turned them down, saying they would have a "negative impact" on their son's development.

The birth reignited debate over the government's "one child" policy.

'Lucky'

"It's lucky to be China's 1.3 billionth citizen," the boy's father Zhang Tong told the Beijing Daily Messenger.

"But... Zhang Yichi is too young and too many commercial activities will have a negative impact on the boy's healthy growth."

Yichi's parents did accept an offer of free insurance from one company, the state news agency Xinhua reports.

It is not known whether the deal allow the insurance company to use Yichi's image in their promotions.

Statisticians calculated the 1.3 billionth person in China would be born on 6 January and Yichi was declared the lucky child.

State media used the occasion to boast that the country's strict family planning policy meant the 1.3 billion mark was reached four years later than originally predicted.

But rights groups overseas have criticised the policy - blamed for the increasing imbalance between births of boys and girls - as coercive and draconian.