In this podcast episode, the focus is on China's shrinking population and the challenges it poses for President Xi Jinping. The birth rate in China has been falling even before the one-child policy was implemented, and this is due to social changes such as women becoming more educated and independent. The Chinese government is struggling to incentivize people to have more children, despite relaxing the one-child policy. Local governments are implementing various policies to encourage marriage and childbearing, such as parenting subsidies. The podcast also looks at Yichun, a shrinking city in China that is facing economic decline and an aging population. Yichun is trying to reinvent itself as an eco-tourist destination, but the population decline remains a challenge. The Chinese government is acknowledging the shrinking population and focusing on high-quality population development. The podcast concludes by noting that China's declining population does not necessarily mean the country is in decline, as the government is adapting to the new normal.

Last year, China’s population began to decline for the first time since 1962 and its reign as the most populous country in the world is over.

The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, discuss what China’s shrinking population means for its future and what scars the one-child policy has left behind. They travel to Yichan, a city in Heilongjiang province, where children are a rarity to ask what lessons can be learned on how to manage decline.

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