China population grew in 2020, says stats bureau

China's population grew last year, the government said, following a news report a once-a-decade census might have found a decline.

The National Bureau of Statistics gave no population figure, which it said would be reported later.

According to a Financial Times report, people familiar with the 2020 census said it was expected to show the population, which rose above 1.4 billion in 2019, fell for the first time since the ruling Communist Party took power in 1949.

"According to our understanding, in 2020, China's population continued to grow,'' the NBS said on its website.