China announces three-child policy, in major policy shift

China announced on Monday that each couple would be permitted to have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two children after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world's most populous country.

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

Also read: What China's new three-child policy means, according to economists, academics

In 2016, China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy - initially imposed to halt a population explosion - with a two-child limit, which failed to result in a sustained surge in births as the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities deterred many couples from starting families.