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China grapples with greying issue
Rapidly ageing population may hold back country's development
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People praying for good luck on Chinese New Year's Eve at a temple in Nanning, the capital of China's southern Guangxi region. Researchers have pointed out that China is growing old before getting rich, a scenario that experts say limits a government's ability to put in place systems such as pensions to cater to the needs of the elderly. Such a scenario could also prevent economies from breaking out of their middle-income status if not managed well.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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China's 2020 economic growth figure of 2.3 per cent, though low in comparison to the 6 per cent of 2019, grabbed headlines as the country showed a remarkable recovery from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The world's second-largest economy also narrowed the gap with the United States, according to Chinese researcher Feng Xuming of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Its gross domestic product (GDP) last year was 70.8 per cent of America's, up from 66.7 per cent the previous year, he told Caixin magazine.
