Invest in Chinese diapers, now!

ELIZABETH GLASSANOS/FP Original Passport blogged earlier about how the rare Year of the Golden Pig could usher in a baby boom in the relatively small country of South Korea. But what about enormous China, where tens of millions of couples likely believe that the Golden Pig can shower their offspring with good fortune? Now, some ...

603828_022207_fortune_05.jpg
603828_022207_fortune_05.jpg

ELIZABETH GLASSANOS/FP Original

ELIZABETH GLASSANOS/FP Original

Passport blogged earlier about how the rare Year of the Golden Pig could usher in a baby boom in the relatively small country of South Korea. But what about enormous China, where tens of millions of couples likely believe that the Golden Pig can shower their offspring with good fortune?

Now, some numbers are coming out on the scope of the phenomenon:

According to forecasts by the Shanghai population and family planning committee, the city will see over 137,000 babies born in 2007, almost double the number in 2006. Beijing has also announced it expects 150,000 babies to be born in 2007, compared with 129,000 last year.

Chinese hospitals are already straining under the baby boom, and preschools are still struggling to cope with an influx of youngsters born in 2000, the auspicious Year of the Dragon. It’s going to get pretty crowded in an already crowded China. So in the end, the Year of the Golden Pig may bring more good fortune to the Chinese diaper industry than anyone else.

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.