China’s Two-Child Policy Runs Out of Gas

Fewer Chinese families gave birth to a second child last year, signaling the fading effects of China’s two-child policy initiated in 2016.

A total of 9.56 million babies were born in China in 2022, the National Health Commission said Thursday. That was down 10% from the previous year, and births are projected to continue declining despite the government’s efforts to shift away from birth restrictions to encouraging all couples to have three children.