Breaking the Double-Standard Lens on China's Population Shifts

Dou Hongyu argues that Western media often frame falling birth rates and aging as opportunities for adaptation in Western countries but as a crisis when they occur in China. The article contrasts Vox’s coverage of China’s shrinking population with its reporting on low U.S. birth rates, and compares the Washington Post’s positive treatment of family-support measures in France with its description of Chinese policies as “coercion.” It says China is shifting toward a talent-driven demographic dividend: in 2025, 61.3 percent of young people were enrolled in higher education, while robotics, artificial intelligence, and Chinese pharmaceutical and electric-vehicle companies contribute to innovation.