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China's population

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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.
Many Beijing residents are unable to secure a hukou, a document that serves as proof of residency and grants access to public services. Photo: Getty Images
China’s Communist Party

Will reluctance from local government undermine reforms to China’s hukou system?

At present, millions of workers cannot register in the cities where they work, limiting access to services such as health and education.

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China’s Communist Party

As China’s Communist Party grows more slowly, its members are getting older

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Video | Why is China overhauling its hukou system?

China’s private sector

China is fretting over a demographic crisis – but what companies might benefit?

Goldman Sachs says pharmaceutical, biotech sectors could see strongest tailwinds, while car industry, tech hardware makers may struggle.

Two elderly people in Beijing on June 1. Photo: EPA
United States

Opinion | As populations fall, nations that can tap human potential will succeed

Countries that use today’s demographic window to accumulate human and technological capital will gain a long-term advantage.

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China consumption

China has the most smokers in the world. Is it harming the economy?

Public health experts warn low taxes on cigarettes risk undermining Beijing’s pursuit of a healthier population.

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Ageing society

Opinion | East Asia’s population challenge isn’t just about raising birth rates

Sustainable policies must strengthen people’s well-being and expand opportunities, creating a society where everyone can thrive.

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A woman and child rest on some steps in Tsim Sha Tsui on January 13. Photo: Jelly Tse
Mainland China

How Shenzhen’s growing population defies expectations in China’s changing cities

The global tech powerhouse attracts more workers and has higher birth and lower mortality rates than the national average.

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China's economic recovery

China expands migrant workers’ access to public services

SCMP Plus annotates the State Council’s 13-point guidelines for easing restrictions under the nation’s hukou household registration system.

China's ageing population

China’s population over 65 outnumbers children for first time since 1949: survey

At the end of last year, 15.87 per cent of China’s population was aged at least 65, compared with 15.25 per cent aged between 0 and 14.

A staff member serves cakes to two women at an elderly care service centre in Linyi, Shandong province, on May 10. Photo: Xinhua
China birth rate

China to start certifying cities and workplaces as ‘birth-friendly’

Campaign aims to name 40 cities and 200 workplaces as being supportive of childbirth every three years.

A nurse feeds a neonatal patient at the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province in Kunming on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua
China economy

China’s marriage numbers plunge to Covid-era low as population woes deepen

Fewer than 1.7 million couples tied the knot in the first quarter, the lowest total for the same period since lockdown-dominated 2020.

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China economy

Why Gen Z is abandoning Beijing for greener fields elsewhere in China

The percentage of the capital’s population aged between 20 and 29 plunged from 21.3 per cent in 2015 to 11.4 per cent in 2024.

Shanghai

‘It’s a new crowd’: how Shanghai’s expat population is recovering – and changing

Four years ago, Shanghai’s draconian lockdown sparked an exodus of foreigners. Now, there are signs the city’s expat community is slowly bouncing back.

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Tourists from Belarus and Russia pose for photos at Yuyuan Garden in central Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

The ageing dilemma: why robots can’t save us but China-US cooperation might

US medical anthropologist Arthur Kleinman looks for path out of a social paradox: longer lives without a defined social role.

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Arthur Kleinman, a founding father of modern medical anthropology, says retirees in China may face decades without a defined social purpose. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong society

Opinion | Hong Kong is getting its population policy assumptions all wrong

Rather than encouraging more births, Hong Kong should align its family-related policies with the Greater Bay Area’s demographic system.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | How China can avoid a repeat of Japan’s ‘lost decades’

Bai Chongen, an economist and adviser to China’s government, explains how the country can dodge ‘Japanification’ and why its economic rise is misunderstood.

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China birth rate

In China, a France-sized population loss begins to test coastal powerhouses

Rising pension burdens and social security subsidies are also straining public finances – though trends remain uneven, analysts say.

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Elderly people rest at a park in Fuyang in eastern China’s Anhui province on September 13, 2024. Photo: AFP
China jobs

China’s youth unemployment crunch deepens as record graduation season looms

China’s official youth jobless rate climbed to 16.9 per cent in March, with another 12.7 million graduates set to enter the job market this summer.

China jobs

Shanghai mobilises seniors to work longer amid China’s demographic crisis

With one in three residents above retirement age, Shanghai’s 28-department plan aims to mobilise retirees to offset shrinking payrolls and rising pension strains.

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China consumption

Xi Jinping backs services sector to power China’s next growth phase

Beijing is counting on services to rebalance growth as it faces economic headwinds and demographic challenges.

President Xi Jinping chairs a symposium in the Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei province, on March 23. Photo: Xinhua
China society

Opinion | Why China’s AI automation push is a risky social experiment

Without reforms to improve wages, housing access and childcare, automation could entrench a low-fertility crisis and destabilise the social contract.

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A robot helps with a task during a media tour to the Beijing Humanoid Robot Pilot Verification Platform, in Beijing on March 20. Photo: EPA
China jobs

China’s youth unemployment falls for sixth consecutive month in February

But young job-hunters say they are still struggling to find work in a testing post-holiday labour market amid rising global economic uncertainty.

China technology

Can AI help China cushion economic fallout from its rapidly ageing population?

As fertility rates fall, Asian economies face a daunting challenge – sustaining growth with fewer workers.

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China consumption

Beijing urged to boost rural pensions as lawmakers fight for farmers’ fair share

Appeals highlight a long-standing lack of benefits for elderly citizens outside cities, and proposals include leveraging state assets and new taxes to bridge the vast disparity.

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An elderly Chinese farmer works a vegetable field in Anhui province. Photo: Getty Images
South Korea

China and South Korea team up on a vexing issue: their fast-ageing populations

After years of tense relations, the two nations are finding common ground over their need to adapt to an era of ‘super-aged societies’.

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An elderly resident interacts with a humanoid robot at a care home in Shenzhen, China’s southern Guangdong province. Photo: Xinhua
China birth rate

Glimmer of hope? Why China’s marriage uptick could spark 2026 birth rebound

Double-digit jump in registration rate, boosted by policy and cultural tradition, offers modest upturn, but demographers are wary of weak fertility intentions.

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China society

Opinion | A loneliness crisis is the price China is paying for rapid modernisation

As migrant workers head home for the Lunar New Year break, it is a good time to reflect on how the loneliness that has gripped Chinese society can be alleviated.

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