China launches three-child policy

BEIJING: China has announced that married couples may have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world’s most populous country.

The change was approved during a politburo meeting yesterday chaired by President Xi Jinping, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Implementing the policy and its relevant supporting measures will help improve China’s population structure, actively respond to the ageing population and preserve the country’s human resource advantages, the meeting said.