The number of children born in China this year is set to rise by 5.7% compared to 2015 as a result of the introduction of the country’s new two-child policy in 2015, according to National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) deputy director Wang Pei’an. Wang, speaking at a China Population and Development Research Center (CPDRC) forum on Saturday, said that an estimated 17.5 million babies will have been born in China by the end of 2016, about 950,000 more than last year, Caixin reports. Wang believes the annual number of births could reach 20 million in the near future, causing China’s population grow to 1.45 billion by 2030. In October 2015, the Communist Party of China’s 18th Central Committee decided to abolish the country’s longstanding one-child policy and roll out a universal two-child policy.