China’s population growth will be negative from 2025, resulting in gradual slowdown of consumer demand, well known Chinese economist Cai Fang of the People’s Bank of China has warned. In a report, he says China must immediately liberalise its birth control policies or face a scenario where there will be fewer workers to take care of the growing population of elderly.
Birth control rules were liberalised in 2016 allowing couples to have two children but it failed to impact birth rates. China saw 580,000 fewer newborns in 2019 for the third consecutive year. As of the 2010 census, China had a population of 1.34 billion with a growth rate of 0.57 per cent, down from 1.07 per cent a decade earlier. The latest census results are expected later this month.
