logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
25m 2s

Drum Tower: Baby bust

The Economist
About this episode

Last year, China’s population began to decline for the first time since 1962 and its reign as the most populous country in the world is over.

The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, discuss what China’s shrinking population means for its future and what scars the one-child policy has left behind. They travel to Yichan, a city in Heilongjiang province, where children are a rarity to ask what lessons can be learned on how to manage decline.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Sprawl of duty: Trump’s tariff drama
Once again President Donald Trump extended the deadline for spine-stiffening tariffs to go into effect on trading partners. We look at the effects of all the uncertainty. Brazil once dominated the world of football; we ask where it went wrong and assess the route to a comeback. A ... Show More
21m 53s
Jul 8
The French reconnection: Macron in Britain
Anglo-French relations have not been so good since before the Brexit vote. Beneath the state-visit pageantry, though, there is much co-operation for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss. Gangs have infiltrated many of Latin America’s mining operati ... Show More
21m 10s
Jul 7
Trump card: can he broker a Gaza deal?
While Israel and Hamas officials discuss a ceasefire via mediators in Qatar, a key meeting will take place at the White House today, when Israel’s prime minister talks to the US president. Why the Chinese Communist Party is removing alcohol from official events. And remembering J ... Show More
21m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Drum Tower: Inside Fortress China
Panzhihua used to be a state secret. The steel-making city, buried deep in the mountains of Sichuan, formed part of Mao Zedong’s Third Front, a covert plan to move core industries inland in case America or the Soviet Union attacked. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau ch ... Show More
42m 1s
Aug 2023
Drum Tower: Solo-motherland
A growing number of Chinese women are pushing for control over family-planning decisions. That can cause discomfort in a society where traditional households are still the norm and where there are many legal barriers to becoming a single parent. But, faced with a shrinking popula ... Show More
36m 32s
Nov 2022
Drum Tower: Back to the future
As China re-shapes the existing world order, its officials argue that the values behind it are Western and not universal. Western leaders worry that China is merely trying to make the world safe for dictatorships. Do universal values exist? The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, D ... Show More
32m 17s
Aug 2023
Drum Tower: Hey, big spenders
The end of China’s zero-covid restrictions was meant to revitalise its economy. But the rebound has fizzled, resulting in weak growth and deflation. Chinese consumers are not spending—and that is a problem for policymakers. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and ... Show More
32m 54s
Feb 2023
Drum Tower: Up in the air
Sino-American relations have been blown off course after the downing of a Chinese balloon.  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and our senior China correspondent, Alice Su, explore whether China and America are heading towards a stand-off and what needs to be don ... Show More
40m 45s
Nov 2022
Introducing Drum Tower
Two of The Economist's China correspondents, Alice Su and David Rennie, analyse the stories at the heart of this vast country and examine its influence beyond its borders. They’ll be joined by our global network of correspondents and expert guests to examine how everything from p ... Show More
2m 18s
Jul 2023
Drum Tower: Neighbourhood watch
More than a decade ago, Japan saw that China was becoming a threat to regional security. It sounded the alarm, but it took the West years to catch up. In the second episode of a two-part series, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, Alice Su, and our Tokyo bureau chief, Noa ... Show More
24m 4s
Feb 2023
Drum Tower: Bricks and people
It is impossible to imagine Beijing without its hutongs. The ancient alleyways harbour the city’s character, culture and history inside their low, grey walls. But for decades the hutongs have been in peril.  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie goes in search of the ... Show More
29m 26s
Sep 2023
Drum Tower: Nuclear reaction
Chinese social media is awash with disinformation about nuclear wastewater. Ever since August 24, when Japan began to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant, China’s state media has pumped out a flood of one-sided reports about the dangers. China’s nationalist netize ... Show More
36m 3s
Jan 2024
Can blind dates fix China’s shrinking population?
China’s population is shrinking so its government is trying to get more people to have kids by offering financial incentives and its own dating app. But not everyone is on board. Some people, especially young women, aren’t keen to follow in their parents’ more traditional footste ... Show More
12m 23s