News stories about China nowadays largely focus on geopolitical developments, particularly the Sino-American rivalry. But China’s 1.4 billion people, while aware of these issues, are more preoccupied with a problem that hits much closer to home: their shrinking families.

For millennia, Confucian values have defined the family as essential to social order and harmony, with family relations playing a central role in confronting challenges such as competition for land and resources. 

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