In China city, boys outnumber girls 8 to 5

Girls seen with Chinese flags in front of an armed soldier guarding the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in this August 5, 2007 file photo.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Sex-selective abortions mean newborn boys now outnumber girls 8 to 5 in one Chinese city, the official Xinhua news agency said, as Beijing pledged another crackdown on its stability-threatening gender imbalance.

A traditional preference for boys, exacerbated by China's one-child policy, means many expectant parents are willing to pay for illegal ultrasound checks to determine the sex of their baby, and abort a female foetus.

Researchers have warned that the gender gap means millions of men will be unable to find a wife, raising the risks of anti-social and violent behaviour.

Lianyungang, in eastern Jiangsu province, faced the most serious imbalance among a list of places cited by Xinhua late on Friday.

But a report by the China Family Planning Association said that the entire island province of Hainan now had 136 newborn boys for every 100 girls. Nationwide the figure is 119 to 100.

New regulations will define the responsibilities of different government departments in combating the problem, Xinhua said. Although sex-selective abortion is already banned, the punishment for carrying it out are not always clear, the report added.