BEIJING -- China's population policy remains unchanged, according to the country's family planning authority.

The publicity department of the National Health and Family Planning Commission made the remarks in response to online reports that "China will relax the current policy by allowing more couples to have two children nationwide," said the Wednesday edition of the Beijing Times.

In August this year, commission spokesperson Deng Haihua said that China would adhere to the basic state policy of family planning and make adjustments "at an appropriate time".

In the late 1970s, China introduced its family planning policy to rein in ?population growth by limiting most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two children, if the first is a girl.

The policy was later relaxed, with the current policy stipulating that to have a second child, both parents must be only children.