China’s Ascent May Soon Expose Its Achilles Heel
Two men play chess in a park in Shanghai on April 10. China's population is aging more quickly than most of the world’s developed economies, due to decades of family planning aimed at halting population growth.
Photographer: Bloomberg
Most countries that grow old are fortunate enough to grow rich first. A graying Japan lives well off investments made during its most recent prime, and is likely to remain a global economic power for many years to come.
China reverses this sequence: it’s about to get old before it gets rich. After four decades of restrictive family planning policies, the latest census may show its population is already shrinking. Will China’s rapid ascent to superpower status now also wilt?