Population Aging and Old-Age Security

Abstract

The large population, weak economic foundation, and underdeveloped productivity constitute the main characteristics of China’s basic conditions. Currently, the primary task for the solution of the population problem is to vigorously control the growth of population size, improve the population quality, and carefully implement the basic policy of family planning. However, the trend of population aging has emerged along with the decline of the birth rate. After the population boom, China will be confronted with another problem, the population aging, which will exert a great impact on the population, economy, and the social development. The report entitled Take Great Strides Along the Road to Socialism with Chinese Characteristics approved in the Party’s Thirteenth National Congress emphasized “adhering to the family planning” and “promoting better prenatal and postnatal care and improving the population quality” and clearly pointed out the necessity to “pay attention to the population aging and timely adopt correct countermeasures.” China shall clarify that the control of population size is the key to the solution to China’s population problems but shall also clearly understand that the improvement of the population quality and awareness of the variation of the age structure are the important integral parts of the overall strategy on population development; therefore, corresponding scientific research shall be conducted. Advanced research is necessary and also possible in view of the characteristics of the population aging in China and the experiences of developed countries on population aging.