China’s structural deceleration: population aging versus innovation

The Chinese economy is expected to grow about half of what it was growing some twelve years ago and such deceleration is bound to continue. Among the many reasons for the structural deceleration of the Chinese economy, rapid – actually accelerated – aging stands out. Instead, innovation is considered to be the most important lever to mitigate the deceleration.

In this round table, we discussed the relative importance of rapid aging for the future of the Chinese economy while also dwelled on China’s major innovation trends and how much additional growth they may bring to the economy by increasing productivity.

This event was organised by Bruegel in cooperation with Asia Centre and the Mercator Institute for China Studies in the frame of the research project China Horizons - Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC)*. Note that a policy brief covering China’s long-term growth, aging and innovation will be distributed prior to the meeting.

This is an output of China Horizons, Bruegel's contribution in the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.