Beijing: – Economists have warned that the number of senior citizens is increasing consistently in China, which could deliver major jolts to the global supply chain and financial sector. Last week, China announced the population statistics. The Chinese population has reached 1.411 billion, and out of these, 264 million are senior citizens. The growth rate of the Chinese population is also declining for the last four years, and this year’s rate is claimed to be the lowest since the year 1950.
Raymond Yeung, the Chief Economist at the ANZ Bank, warned, ‘The number and trend of dependent senior citizens is increasing in China. This is not a warning only for China but also for the entire world. It must be remembered that China is the hub of the global supply chain. In the next few years, China will be losing a whopping 70 million workers. This could deliver a major jolt for the global supply chain.’ Yeung warned that the increasing number of senior citizens in the Chinese population also are warning bells for the international financial sector. The incidence and percentage of people saving money are the highest in China. Taking cognisance of the trend, many investors have made additional investments in the Chinese pension funds. Economists claimed that the funds and the return on investment could dip if the number of senior citizens keeps increasing.
While the number of senior citizens is increasing in China, the birth rate is declining rapidly. The birth rate declined by 15% in the year 2020, and this is the fourth successive year, recording a decline in the birth rate. China cancelled the one-child policy to increase the birth rate. But the declining birth rate shows that the mindset of the Chinese population does not seem to have changed.
The Chinese economy is still dependent on the manufacturing sector. It is being said that the declining birth rate will adversely affect the availability of the workforce required in this sector. Some analysts express concerns that incentivising growth in the birth rate will enhance the problems of poverty and unemployment in the rural Chinese industry, and the social stability in China will be jolted.
Therefore, there seems to be confusion in the Chinese policies regarding population. This also indicates an economic crisis, in the waiting, for China.
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