China’s population will start shrinking sooner than expected, threatening its economy years ahead of schedule

Elon Musk's dire warnings of an underpopulation crisis might not be playing out on a global scale. But at least one government is worried about having too few people: China. 

The country's long-expected demographic decline is coming faster than anticipated, meaning a threat to its economic model is arriving years ahead of schedule. 

On Thursday, Yang Wenzhuang, the head of population for China's National Health Commission, told a conference that the country's population would start to shrink before 2025, according to state-run news outlet Global Times. Earlier forecasts expected the decline to begin in 2027.

Yang said that...