[baguasquirrel]

I couldn't agree more. What would be sadistically amusing in the context of this problem is if another "black swan" event occurred, like a famine caused altered global weather patterns. All the countries with shrinking populations ought to fare a lot better if some such thing were to happen.

Who knows what the future will bring? It's arguable that they should probably turn around that one-child policy now, but China's had far too many people anyway. 1 billion is far too many for a space that small. China's hinterland ain't no American dream. The actual habitable land in China is only about a third to a quarter of what you see on the map.