China population: with falling fertility rate ‘an unavoidable norm’, Beijing told focus should shift to people not numbers

China should focus less on fertility rates and the number of births, and instead focus on providing better services for prospective parents, while also respecting people who are reluctant to start a family, as it faces a potentially irreversible population decline, according to a research institute report.

Calls for demographic solutions have been unabating since China’s overall population suffered a first decline in more than six decades last year, while new births also dropped below 10 million for the first time in modern history.