The universal two-child policy is expected to add more than 30 million people to China's working-age population by 2050, helping the nation to curb a looming labor shortage, said a senior family planning official.

The number was revealed on Monday by Wang Pei'an, deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office.

China's labor force of people ages 15 to 59, which has continued to dwindle after peaking at 940 million in 2012, is expected to reach 700 million by 2050, thanks to the two-child policy.