China's leaders want more babies, but local officials resist

China's population is estimated to peak at 1.442 billion in 2029 and then gradually decline, potentially fulfilling the conventional wisdom that China will grow old before it grows rich.

Like Taiwan and Japan, China's population pyramid would become coffin-shaped

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/From-pyramid-to-coffin-Changing-age-structure-of-the-Australian-population-1925-2045_fig5_224014694

(It's called coffin-shaped for a reason)

Governments attempting to micromanage an individual's fertility are on a hiding to nothing. They won't succeed and just cause resentment and anger in the populace. Help people to make choices, stop ordering them.

What sort of government would dictate how many babies people should have? An evil communist regime that's who. Next, they will try to copy Japan's solution for shrinking workforce: Robots, AI and drones.

The one child policy has indirectly contributed to this current problem to some degree in that during the time this policy was in place, there were many abortions of females that has lead to a nation that has some 33 million more men than women.

Wholly agree with the above. Add in automation of more and more jobs and the economic need for worker drones diminishes as well.

But for the sustainability of the planet perhaps we need to look at ourselves and reconsider what is best for the future of the planet and human beings. I'm not saying this only about China but globally.

For sure. And that can be related to concerns over not just population but climate change, global conflicts and mass migration which are all interlinked.

Global population has already double from 3.8 billion in 1972 to a unsustainable 7.7 billion in 2019. To sustain our planet and the limited (already strained) natural resources, we need to see massive global population decline.

This is the single biggest problem and threat to our planet and our existence as a species.

The only (selfish) people who (need) population growth are "Banksters and Politicians". Don't fall for their 'ignorant and selfish' propaganda.

It was about two years ago that the number of Chinese retiring from the workforce exceeded those entering. As with over-populated Japan, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but planning is required, and I'm afraid the government there is not up to the task.