Ya, I’m surprised about this story for that reason. I thought their population growth had been cut way down, due to the 1 child policy.
The growth numbers tell me that the existence of the policy may have been exaggerated.
Maybe it's applied selectively depending on political leanings.
It was not well enforced. Particularly in the rural areas.
There had been a one child population for a generation, and it cut down the birthrate. However, it isn’t just births that affect population. The average lifespan for Chinese has increased from the mid 40s to 78-80. today