China's ageing population: A demographic crisis is unfolding for Xi

Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/12912912

A slowing economy, shrinking government benefits and a decades-long one-child policy have created a creeping demographic crisis in in Xi Jinping’s China.

The pension pot is running dry and the country is running out of time to build enough of a fund to care for the growing number of elderly.

Over the next decade, about 300 million people, who are currently aged 50 to 60, are set to leave the Chinese workforce. This is the country’s largest age group, nearly equivalent to the size of the US population.

Who will look after them? The answer depends on where you go and who you ask.