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Hello and welcome to the edition podcast, where each week we take a look at some of the articles in the magazine with the writers behind them.

I'm Laura Prendergars, the Spectator's executive editor.

On this week's episode, we look at China's plummeting birth rate.

Is China heading for a demographic disaster?

Plus, we take a look at what foreign policy might look like under Prime Minister Liz Truss.

And finally, the leadership contenders go head to head across the country.

Can Rishi win over the grassroots?

First up, in his cover piece this week, Rana Mitter looks at China's baby bust.

He's a history professor at Oxford University and author of China's Good War, how World War II is shaping a new nationalism.

Rana joins me now, along with our broadcast editor,

Cindy Yu. Rana, if the listeners you might not be aware of this, could you start by explaining

why the birth rate in China seems to be in such steep decline? Well, Lara, the birth rate in China

really is in very, very steep decline compared to any other major society on Earth.

And in fact, one of the things that's happened recently is that the decline has been seen by statisticians inside China to be even steeper than had been thought.

So much so that next year, 2023, it looks as if India, not China, will be the most populous country in the world for the first time, actually, for more than 2,000 years.

There are two main reasons for this, one long term, one short term.

One short term issue, which you might say is not that short term, it's probably about 40 years, is the one-child policy.

I think many people will have heard of this, but just a reminder

that in the late 1970s, the Chinese government decided that to reduce what they saw as a

...