China population: free flow of labour ‘vital’ to the health of poorer regions as national workforce shrinks

Free migration of workers is essential to the health of local economies in China, demographers say, amid an irreversible decline in the country’s population.

Three provinces and a city located in central and southwest China – Jiangxi, Guangxi, Gansu and Chongqing – reported population growth last year, bucking a nationwide decline of about 850,000 people, as deaths outnumbered births for the first time in six decades.

The population of Jiangxi rose by some 100,000 in 2022, with around 90 per cent of that growth coming from an inflow of people from other provinces, according to Post calculations based on official statistics.

Jiangxi is increasingly appealing to workers due to its expanding economy, which grew by 4.7 per cent last year, making it China’s fastest growing provincial economy along with Fujian. Its foreign trade expanded by 35 per cent to 671 billion yuan (US$99.3 billion).

Local economic analysts and officials have said that Jiangxi is also attractive for industries looking to transfer from more expensive coastal cities in nearby provinces, including Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong, with the costs of moving also much cheaper.

“In recent years, manufacturing industries in the coastal regions have been moving further inland, and many migrant workers choose to seek work closer to home,” said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank connected to the provincial government.

“In addition, some returned home to start their own businesses after having accumulated experience in [developed areas].”