国内英语新闻:China to see 30 mln more in work force by 2050: official

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A senior official responsible for public health and population on Tuesday expected China to have 30 million more in work force by 2050 due to the policy shift which allows the second child into nationwide households.

About 90 million couples might each have two children, which could contribute to population growth, especially of newborns, Li Bin, who heads the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature annual session.

Li said the Chinese population reached 1.375 billion in 2015, with a population peak at about 1.45 billion sometime before 2050, when the total population is estimated to fall from the peak to 1.38 billion.

Li said the ratio of old-age people to the whole population would somehow decrease by 2050, without elaborating on how much the decrease might be.

China last year adopted the policy that encourages all couples nationwide to have two children, after allowing couples, if either being the only child, to have two children in 2013.

Since the late 1970s the Chinese government has advocated one couple to have one child.

Li said China will continue the family-planning policy to achieve a delicate balance between population, environment and sustained development.