The people count points to longer-term structural issues that will impede growth in the future

Countries around the world are welcoming back Chinese tourists, once the largest source of tourism revenue globally. But even as China reopens its borders, the travel industry isn’t expecting things to bounce back to what they were just yet. Here’s why. Photo illustration: Adam Adada

Economists said China’s shrinking population poses a major future challenge for the world’s second-largest economy, while President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser sought Tuesday to restore investor confidence after one of the most disappointing growth rates in decades.

China has already rolled back the zero-Covid policies that restrained growth for much of 2022, setting the stage for a recovery this year. The U-turn, in the wake of public protests, was part of a broad policy reset aimed at boosting the economy, including an easing of regulations on the property sector and signals that the clampdown on the tech sector has ended.

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