1 / 2All couples will now be allowed to have two childrenChina has decided to end its decades-long(数十年之久的) one-child policy. All couples will now be allowed to have two children, the state-run(国家的) news agency said, citing a statement from the Communist Party(共产党).The controversial (充满争议的)policy was introduced nationally in 1979, to reduce the countrys birth rate and slow the population growth rate. However, concerns at Chinas ageing population(人口老龄化) led to pressure for change. The one-child policy is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births since it began. Couples who violated(违反) the policy faced a variety of punishments, from fines and the loss of employment to forced abortions(被迫流产). Over time, the policy was relaxed in some provinces, as demographers (人口学家)and sociologists(社会学家) raised concerns about rising social costs and falling(下降的) worker numbers. The Communist Party began formally relaxing national rules two years ago, allowing couples in which at least one of the pair is an only child(夫妻单独一方为独生子女的) to have a second child.Chinas one-child policyIntroduced in 1979, the policy meant that many Chinese citizens - around a third, China claimed in 2007 - could not have a second child without incurring a fine.(约三分之一中国人，如果没有遭受罚款，将无法拥有第二个孩子) In rural areas, families were allowed to have two children if the first was a girl. Other exceptions included ethnic minorities and - since 2013 - couples where at least one was a single child(少数民族以及 2013年起，夫妻一方为独生子女) Campaigners say the policy led to forced abortions(引产), female infanticide(幼女死亡), and the under-reporting of female births(女性出生信息的漏报). It was also implicated as a cause of Chinas gender imbalance(被认为与中国性别失衡有关)What was Chinas one-child policy?Currently about 30% of Chinas population is over the age of 50.Correspondents (记者) say that despite the relaxation of the rules, many couples may still opt to(选择) only have one child, as one-child families have 2 / 2become the social norm(社会常态 ).Critics say that even a two-child policy will not boost(促进) the birth rate enough, the BBCs John Sudworth reports. And for those women who want more than two children, nor will it end the states insistence on the right to control their fertility(控制生育的权利), he adds.As long as the quotas(配额 ) and system of surveillance (监控)remains, women still do not enjoy reproductive rights, Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch told AFP. The announcement comes on the final day of a summit of the Chinese Communist Partys policy-making Central Committee, known as the fifth plenum(五中全会).The party is also set to announce growth targets and its next five year plan(五年计划).