China and South Korea find a new shared bond: their rapidly ageing societies
After years of tense relations, the two nations are finding common ground over their need to adapt to an era of ‘super-aged societies’
China and South Korea have had a turbulent relationship over the past few years as they compete across a range of hi-tech industries. But the two countries now appear to be bonding over a shared challenge: their rapidly ageing societies.
The issue has featured on the agenda of several meetings between President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in recent months, with the leaders pledging to work together to deal with the economic changes being wrought by their nations’ low birth rates.
In November, following a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting, the two nations signed a cooperation agreement on the “silver economy”, with Xi highlighting the need for mutually beneficial outcomes.
“First, it’s definitely one of the least sensitive areas of cooperation in China-Korea relations, and second, it’s a 100 per cent growing market in both countries,” said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Both nations are ageing at an unprecedented pace, with demographic changes unfolding faster than many policymakers had anticipated.
South Korea has among the lowest birth rates in the world, and the country is already classified as a “super-aged society”. In 2025, more than 21 per cent of its population – or 10.84 million people – was aged 65 or above.