China In Context artwork

What dangers lurk in the year of the dragon?

China In Context

English - January 23, 2024 16:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MB - ★★★★★ - 2 ratings
News Commentary News Politics china chinese hong kong taiwan asia east asia beijing xi jinping ccp chinese communist party Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed


China's population is shrinking. The National Bureau of Statistics reports that it has fallen by about three million in two years. This puts pressure on the economy, as the number of people in work is also in decline, at the time as the group of retired and elderly people is increasing. One hope is that 2024 will see a bump in births, as it is the year of the dragon in Chinese astrology, a symbol of good fortune. In this podcast, Paul Hodges, Chairman of New Normal Consulting considers China’s demographic dilemma during a discussion with regular host, Duncan Bartlett.