Aging of China
Current demographic trends could hinder economic growth and create challenging social issues in China.
[1] In 1979, the Government of China established a controversial one-child policy aimed at curbing the high fertility rate.
[3] With economic development, the provision of social services, and improved welfare conditions, life expectancy in China has also increased.
[10] The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported that total Chinese population decreased by 2.08 million in 2023, with the death rate reaching the highest level since 1974.
[16] China's aging population is caused by a low birth rate together with prolonged human life expectancy.
[18] With economic growth and social development, increasing smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diets, and psychological stress have an effect on lowering the fertility rates of couples.
[20] Exposure to air pollutants may cause free radicals to exceed body's regulation ability, adversely altering biologically relevant molecules such as DNA and triggering human diseases.
[23][24] Despite the improvement of China's social welfare system, there are still huge inequalities in health between urban and rural areas.
[24] Compared with urban peers, the number of medical service providers for rural residents is significantly reduced, and the utilization rate of facilities is low, resulting in their poor health.
[1] Due to the lower fertility rate and extension of the human life span, the population in China is aging faster than almost all other countries.
[5] A large number of the elderly population has increased the pressure on the Chinese government to allocate the pensions and make social welfare more accessible.
[6] The lack of conventional financial infrastructure and the extent of the aging population make it difficult for China to provide a holistic solution.
[31]: 162 The Commission's purpose is to re-focus the debate on aging not just on the risks but on opportunities through "unleashing the intellectual and vocational capacities of the older population and the whole of Chinese society.
[32]: 118 China's aging population could hinder economic growth, create challenging social problems, and limit its capabilities to act as a new global hegemon.
Moreover, it has already squeezed out most of the large productivity gains that come with a population becoming more educated and urban and adopting technologies to make manufacturing more efficient.
"[37] Brendan O'Reilly, a guest expert at Geopolitical Intelligence Services, wrote, "A dark scenario of demographic decline sparking a negative feedback loop of economic crisis, political instability, emigration and further decreased fertility is very real for China".
[42] China's aging population has led to a contraction of the labor force that induces a slowing economic growth.
[31]: 167 China is urged to raise the legal age of retirement to cope with the problem of a reduced labour force.
[48] In order to alleviate the population aging in China, the Chinese government has relaxed its child limitation policies.
Under the amended Article 18 of China's Population and Family Planning Law, every married couple is allowed to have up to three children.
[9] However, the improvement has been limited since the implementation of the policy, largely due to the impact of COVID-19, economic uncertainty and people's current struggles in supporting children as well as old parents.
]"[53] Reinforcing this responsibility, the 1985 Inheritance Law provides that if a parent dies without a will, the disposition of property is applied heavily in favor of children who cared for the deceased.
[54]: 64 To address the aging of China's population, the Fourteenth Five Year Plan (covering 2021–2025) seeks to expand healthcare and retirement system initiatives.
