China’s population will likely peak this year, a central bank adviser said, with several provinces already reporting declines in the population growth rate. Cai Fang, a member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee, said it’s “entirely possible” that the world’s largest population will peak in 2022, according to a report in the 21st Century Business Herald. Separately, Yicai reported seven out of the 16 provinces that have so far disclosed birth data saw negative population growth in 2021. With a declining labor force already acting as a constraint on the supply side of the economy, a shrinking ... (full story)