"China's Demographic Shift: Implications for Economic Growth and Future"

China's ageing population, coupled with a record low birth rate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths, poses a severe challenge to the economy's long-term growth prospects, threatening key policy goals of boosting domestic consumption and reining in debt. With a large demographic group set to exit the labor pool and strain on the pension system, China faces structural imbalances and a potential humanitarian catastrophe. The country's low retirement age and declining birth rate are expected to impact domestic consumption, property sector, and innovation, leading to increased reliance on exports and slower productivity improvement.