China's official Xinhua news agency says the country's population reached 1.3 billion Thursday when a baby boy was born at a Beijing hospital.
The agency says senior Chinese officials were on hand to greet the newborn.
Xinhua says the milestone was delayed for four years by China's birth control policies.
Human rights groups have criticized China for these policies, saying they led to forced abortions, sterilizations and abandonment of baby girls because of a bias in favor of boys.
Xinhua says although the population growth rate has been reduced, the actual increase is still about 10 million people annually.
