As China Ages The Politics of Demographic Decline in the CounterReform Era

An incisive revelation of how China's demographic future is inseparable from its political present--and why that should concern us all. China faces a massive demographic challenge. Once a young country, China is aging faster than almost anywhere in history. By the late twenty-first century, nearly half will be senior citizens. Coupled with the disappearance of China's youth, this demographic tsunami will reshape everythin labor markets, healthcare systems, pension funds, and the social fabric that has held Chinese society together for generations. In As China Ages, Carl Minzner explains why China's population is growing older and explores how China will address the core challenges that it will face in coming decades. Drawing on comparative analysis across East Asia, he argues that China's current political trajectory is actively undermining its ability to respond to a rapidly aging society. As he shows, the Party-state's ideological pivot toward pro-natalism under a neo-traditionalist banner is worsening gender relations in China, exacerbating the fertility decline it claims to address. Further, rising nationalism is choking off migration pathways that have proven crucial for other aging East Asian societies to help address their own demographic challenges. Yet China is not alone in confronting this challenge. Minzner places China in comparative context with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan throughout, which offer a preview of what lies ahead-and lessons in how China and other societies might respond. Highlighting consequences that extend far beyond China's borders, As China Ages reveals how China's authoritarian turn is undermining Beijing's ability to respond to mounting demographic challenges--and what that means for China and the world.