Thirty-two well-known scholars Tuesday published a proposal online calling for the end of the current one-child family planning policy suggesting it is a roadblock to the country's sustainable development.

The proposal, initiated by the eminent economists Liang Jianzhang, Mao Yushi, Mu Guangzong and Yi Fuxian, was co-signed by 28 other professors.

The proposal warns of the possible consequences of an aging society and declining labor force brought by the current policy. It points out that China's population will peak of 1.35 billion in 2017 and then start to drop sharply,raising concerns about a shrinking domestic market.

Liang, who is an economics professor from Peking University, posted the proposal, which mainly focuses on the economic cost of the policy, on his Sina Weibo Tuesday,

The proposal discusses the policy's impact on China's social structure and the decline of the traditional family support network. It points out that many couples who are both single children may be burdened with caring for six family members. "They are deprived of the support of siblings," the proposal reads.

Xue Zhaofeng, one of the co-signers and chairman of Peking University's Institute of Law and Economics, told the Global Times that the family planning policy is a key contributor to China's rapidly aging population. He suggests that there will soon not be enough young workers to support the aged population.

Liang Zhongtang, former expert with the National Population and Family Planning Commission and a critic of the family planning policy told the Global Times he is not optimistic the proposal will lead to changes in the family planning policy.

Liang refused to sign the proposal.

"It's useless. Until policymakers decide it's time for a change nothing will happen," Liang told the Global Times Thursday.

In October the China Development Research Foundation under the State Council also called for changes to the family planning policy. It said the policy should be loosened over the coming three years and ended by 2020.