China to end one child policy after more than 30 years.

The country's official Xinhua News Agency reports the decision by President Xi Jinping ruling Communist Party has been taken because of fears over China's aging population.

Lifting the three-decade-old one-child policy is understood to have been approved by the party’s decision-making Central Committee.

It will allow all couples to have two children

Last year, the country's top legal body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, passed a resolution allowing couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

China introduced its one-child policy at the end of the 1970s to keep a lid on rapid population growth.

However, the country's leaders now fear China's ageing population will reduce the labour pool and exacerbate elderly care issues.

By 2050, more than a quarter of the population will be over 65.