Discontents of demography

China should refrain from excessive stimulus policies to offset the impact of decrease in working-age population

China has been racking its brains on how to combat the economic slowdown, but it should pay more attention to the alarm sounded by the drop in its working-age population.

The drop in the working-age population, a major long-term underpinning force of a country's economy, will determine China's growth prospects in the coming decades. China's bullish economic growth over the past 30-odd years has been mainly attributed to such factors as systematic improvement and attraction of foreign investment, but the abundant supply of low-cost labor has played a crucial role in driving the boom.