China to relax birth policy, weighs risks

China will tread carefully in relaxing its birth policies for fear of harming social stability, even as the latest census highlights the urgency to address the country’s declining birth trends and ageing population, policy sources said.Expectations for birth policy reforms are rising after the 2020 census last week showed China’s population grew at its slowest in the last decade since the 1950s as births declined and ageing accelerated. Top leaders are working out a plan to cope with demographic challenges, the sources said.