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China's population

Can an ageing, shrinking China still achieve prosperity?

Growing elderly population another conundrum for Chinese policymakers grappling with high youth unemployment and ‘ultra-low’ fertility.

Growing elderly population another conundrum for Chinese policymakers grappling with high youth unemployment and ‘ultra-low’ fertility

6 hours agovideocam

Opinion | China’s path to sustainable growth goes beyond economic stimulus

11 Oct 2024 - 2:47AMvideocam

How China’s ‘little emperors’ went from monarchs to overwhelmed caregivers

2 Oct 2024 - 9:52AMvideocam

Video | How Chinese citizens feel about raising the retirement age

The Post spoke with local residents to hear what they had to say about the policy change.

29 Sep 2024 - 11:00AM

Opinion | Lifting productivity key to China overcoming demographic challenge

As China confronts the challenges of an ageing population, the path forward lies in boosting productivity across all sectors and age groups.

24 Sep 2024 - 8:27AMvideocam

Shenzhen eases limits for government jobs, blazing trail for retirement delay

Three districts in the southern city of Shenzhen seemingly respond to long-awaited move to gradually raise retirement ages in China.

25 Sep 2024 - 1:51PMvideocam

Work longer, save smarter: China’s retirement-age changes force rethink of plans

At a time when consumption confidence is lacking in China, professionals express mixed feelings about working longer in life.

20 Sep 2024 - 11:02AMvideocam

China’s top legislature has approved a plan to raise retirement ages gradually by up to five years by 2040. Photo: Bloomberg

‘No one is happy’: China’s move to lift retirement age unpopular among workers

Uncertainty over further changes and concerns over economy and jobs market are fuelling discontent over the decision.

23 Sep 2024 - 10:50AMvideocam

Editorial | Raising the retirement age inevitable amid China’s demographic changes

It is never a good time to tell people they have to work longer but if China’s public pension system is to be saved, there really is no alternative.

18 Sep 2024 - 11:52PM

Explainer | China has raised its retirement age. How does this compare to other countries?

Recently announced increases to China’s retirement age have received global attention – but what have other countries done?

18 Sep 2024 - 7:00PMvideocam

China has raised its retirement age for the first time in over 50 years. Photo: Bloomberg

How raising China’s retirement age can help Beijing buy time to plug pension gap

Last week, China announced plans to gradually raise retirement ages by up to five years by 2040, starting from January.

19 Sep 2024 - 11:13AM

Elderly people chat outside a restaurant along a street in Beijing. Photo: AFP

My Take | China’s decision to extend the retirement age will not fix social welfare

The controversy over China’s extended retirement age is a fresh reminder of the deep-rooted problems inherent in the country’s national income distribution system.

17 Sep 2024 - 7:00AM

China’s pension reform a ‘milestone’, but will it fix funding woes?

Beijing has ‘no choice’ but to raise retirement age as working population shrinks, but more is needed to fill fiscal gaps, analysts say.

15 Sep 2024 - 6:05PMvideocam

Opinion | Have Chinese people forgotten how to be kind to children?

Public displays of intolerance are symptomatic of a society hostile to children. Given its plummeting birth rate, China must push back against this trend.

14 Sep 2024 - 10:27AMvideocam

China raises retirement age by up to 5 years in face of ageing population

The top legislative body agreed the measures following warnings the pension system could run out of money by 2035.

13 Sep 2024 - 7:38PMvideocam

The move is designed to counter the economic impact of a shrinking workforce. Photo: Reuters

Lawmakers discuss plan to gradually lift retirement age in China

The move comes as the country is grappling with a declining birth rate and rapidly greying population.

11 Sep 2024 - 10:26PMvideocam

Why China wants to make it easier to marry, harder to divorce

9 Sep 2024 - 11:07AM

All that silver is turning into gold in China’s ageing society

Companies are shifting their focus to capitalise on opportunities presented by China’s ageing population. For some, the strategic pivot is starting to pay off.

4 Sep 2024 - 8:26AMvideocam

Senior citizens enjoyed coffee at a rehabilitation facility in Tianjin in 2023. Photo: Xinhua

China’s birth rate unlikely to benefit from Filipino helpers, analysts say

The use of foreign domestic helpers in China to lower the costs of child care, mirroring a move by South Korea, would not do much for the declining birth rate, analysts say.

31 Aug 2024 - 8:00AMvideocam

Opinion | The rise and coming fall of Chinese manufacturing

The shrinking of China’s manufacturing sector is both inevitable and irreversible. However, unfortunately for the US, it will not guarantee a domestic revival.

29 Aug 2024 - 4:43PMvideocam

Immigration, not retirement age, key to China’s population woes: US academic

Texas A&M University professor Dudley L. Poston Jnr sparks debate by saying China needs immigration to mitigate population decline.

28 Aug 2024 - 9:57PM

Despite a spate of government policies to encourage births, young adults in China remain reluctant to family planning. Photo: Reuters

China wants to make it easier to get married, and harder to divorce

Policymakers grappling with a shrinking and rapidly ageing population are trying to encourage young people to marry and have children.

6 Sep 2024 - 7:24PMvideocam

Newly-weds at a group ceremony in Urumqi, Xinjiang this month. The government is trying to encourage young people to get married. Photo: Xinhua

China’s Dali to offer dating service so that 33,000 bachelors can find wives

Region home to thousands of bachelors aged 35 to 55 will set up a task force to ‘tackle marriage problems’ as China’s births crisis threatens economic growth.

24 Aug 2024 - 9:00PMvideocam

Being Chinese | Put a ring on it? Chinese women don’t need marriage any more

Women in China once believed marriage to be a necessary passage in life. Now they know they can choose to follow their desires.

24 Aug 2024 - 9:15AMvideocam

As population ages, China vows to make social security fund ‘bigger, stronger’

National Social Security Fund will seek to increase investment in the domestic capital market, while also boosting openness and transparency.

20 Aug 2024 - 9:00AM

As of 2023, China had nearly 297 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 21.1 per cent of the national population. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s pet sector attracts investor bets on domestic manufacturers

Import substitution gives domestic companies a chance to bite off a bigger share of the fragmented market for food and other pet supplies.

20 Aug 2024 - 8:30AM

A cat rests on its owners shoulder while attending cat night at the Shanghai Museum in Shanghai on July 27, 2024. The event was part of an ancient Egypt exhibition. Photo: AFP

Outside In | As world population shrinks, prepare for seismic changes

The UN projects a drop in the global population by 2100 as longer life expectancy and migration shape communities amid a collapse in fertility.

10 Aug 2024 - 5:04AMvideocam

China must focus on human development over infrastructure: population expert

With return on infrastructure investment falling rapidly, public spending could be prioritised in areas with higher social returns.

9 Aug 2024 - 12:42AM

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China's population

China's top decision-making body announced in late October that it would relax the one-child policy, a controversial birth control measure Beijing introduced officially in the early 1980s to curb population growth. But demographers say the easing in the rules will not do much to rebalance China's ageing population.

last updated:

9 September, 2024