1.3 billionth baby turns down ad offers

BEIJING - The family of a baby boy formally named China's 1.3 billionth citizen has turned down advertising deals from many companies making everything from diapers to infant formula, state media said on Monday.

Many companies had contacted Zhang Yichi's parents, hoping the boy would act as an "image representative" for their products, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the Beijing Daily Messenger.

The family turned down all the invitations, except the offer of insurance provided by an insurance company.

"It's lucky to be China's 1.3 billionth citizen," the baby's father, Zhang Tong, was quoted as saying.

"But it's unnecessary to act as an image representative for so many products, since Zhang Yichi is too young and too many commercial activities will have negative impact on the boy's healthy growth."

China named Yichi, the first baby born at a Beijing hospital on Thursday, as the 1.3 billionth person of the world's most populous nation, more than two decades after a one-child policy was introduced to keep its numbers in check.

Last week, five people were jailed for their roles in a fake milk-powder scandal last year in which at least 13 babies died.