China’s aging population, an unintended consequence of its draconian one-child policy, poses another threat to long-term prosperity. With the dependency ratio – the proportion of children and pensioners relative to working-age men and women – set to rise rapidly in the coming years, economic growth will remain subdued, while health-care and pension costs will increasingly strain government budgets.
严格的计划生育导致了中国人口不断老化这一意外后果，对其长期前景构成了另一个威胁。赡养比——即儿童和退休者相对工作年龄男性和女性的比率——将在未来几年中迅速上升，因此，经济增长将保持低水平，而医疗和养老成本将日益影响政府预算。