China Now Facing the Perfect Storm, Demographic Nightmare

  Chinese society is on the verge of a structural transformation even more profound than the long and painful project of economic rebalancing, which the Communist Party is anxiously beginning to undertake. China’s population is aging more rapidly than it is getting rich, giving rise to a great demographic imbalance with important implications for the Party’s efforts to transform the Chinese economy and preserve its own power in the coming decade. China Analysis Two reports in Chinese media highlight different aspects of China’s unfolding demographic crunch. The Ministry of Education reported Aug. 21 that more than 13,600 primary schools closed…