Beijing dropped the one-child policy in 2016 but that did not reverse the demographic decline — the number of new infants born has fallen every year since then. “This is a slow storm that has gained strength over the past few years,” said Wang Feng, an expert on China’s demographic change [and sociology professor] at the University of California, Irvine, in the US. He said the “historical footprint” left by the policy meant families have grown accustomed to having a single child.

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