China’s population crisis reflects diminished public trust in government, academics say

At a public symposium on demographic challenges, economists and policy researchers offer candid assessments of what China has truly lost as births plummet

Analysts concede that effects of China’s pronatalist policies will take time, while a dearth of new births would represent a ‘horrendous social and economic crisis’

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China is facing a growing demographic crisis as it tries to convince couples to have more children. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 8:00am, 27 Oct 2023Updated: 2:14pm, 30 Oct 2023

To motivate couples to have kids in the face of China’s deepening demographic crisis, Beijing should start by trying to restore the credibility that it lost during the pandemic, according to academics.

Despite a slew of pronatalist policies being rolled out across the country, it will not be easy to restore public trust in the short term, as the government has repeatedly failed to keep its promises, according to Ma Liang, a government affairs professor at Renmin University of China.

Speaking on Wednesday at a symposium hosted by the university, Ma and others offered candid assessments of China’s population challenges.

For decades, China’s controversial one-child policy was strictly enforced under the guise of controlling population growth, but it has instead created an imbalance, with the population ageing rapidly. And critics say China’s frequent and abrupt policy changes during the pandemic also undermined the government’s credibility.

If Chinese people can fully release their creativity, I don’t think our vitality will diminish

Ma Liang, Renmin University

The symposium was centred on solutions to China’s population conundrum, which saw the population decline last year for the first time since 1961 – shrinking its 1.41 billion population by about 850,000 people. In the past five years, the annual number of Chinese newborns has fallen by around 40 per cent.

In April, the UN said that India had overtaken China as the world’s most populous country.

“A country’s competitiveness does not depend solely on its population size, but rather on its achievement in areas such as technology and culture,” Ma said. “It is crucial to transform the competitive advantage.

“Even when the population decreases, if Chinese people can fully release their creativity, I don’t think our vitality will diminish.”