China’s birth-rate struggles underscore its millennia-long struggle to manage ‘the masses’
Women carry a toddler across a street in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. Andy Wong/AP A man pushes a toddler on a stroller along a street in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. Andy Wong/AP A man carries a toddler along a street in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. Andy Wong/AP BEIJING (AP) — From ancient…