China population: Beijing’s economic growth anxiety on show as mouthpiece focuses on demographics for 3 days
- A third consecutive editorial focusing on China’s population strategy appeared in the People’s Daily newspaper on Wednesday
- China’s population declined for the first time in six decades last year, with reports suggesting India became the world’s most populous country at the end of April
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Baby product producers in China forced to diversify as birth rate plunges
A series of editorials in a key mouthpiece newspaper are seen to represent concerns from Beijing that China’s demographics crisis could impact economic growth, with the latest highlighting the need to “improve confidence in population development” and focus on the cultivation of high-quality talent.
A third consecutive editorial by Zhong Yin, a pen name that literally means the voice of the central government, focusing on China’s population strategy appeared in the People’s Daily on Wednesday.
It’s the right time to bring up the issue of enhancing population quality
“There has been heated discussion on the negative growth of the Chinese population, the falling birth rate, and the fact that it’s been overtaken by India. I think the unusual explanations in People’s Daily are a response to concerns about the impact of all these things on China’s economic growth,” said Liu Hongyan, deputy director of the China Population and Development Research Centre under the National Health Commission.
“It’s the right time to bring up the issue of enhancing population quality, because unlike in the early stage of reform and opening-up, when we relied on labour-intensive manufacturing for growth, we’re now in a totally different situation where technology and talent are the key issues.”
The People’s Daily editorials elaborate on President Xi Jinping’s vision on how China should tackle its ongoing demographic shift, which includes a rapidly ageing society and a falling birth rate, during a recent meeting with top officials.