Adequate attention should be paid to the declining number of births

ON JAN 21, the National Bureau of Statistics released official data that show China had 15.23 million newborns in 2018, about 2 million fewer than that of 2017. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

China implemented a new family planning policy in 2016 allowing all couples to have two children. However, there were 17.23 million newborns in 2017, 630,000 fewer than that of 2016; and the number of newborns was down by a further 2 million last year.

The drop in the number of newborns has aroused wide public concern. Related departments have responded by saying that the population growth of China is still healthy. They also dispelled certain rumors that China faced "population problems" or "negative population growth".