China getting old before it gets rich?

So demographers say. Implications: will not overtake the US total GDP, let alone GDP per person. Less GDP = less able to project military? Or at least = having to stretch more. Also = less bragging rights!

This trend is still little known or recognised. Good on SMH for doing so. 

/Snip:

Demography, it’s said, is destiny. Now that China has published its first national census in a decade, what’s its destiny to be? It’s a bit awkward, actually, for President Xi Jinping’s vaunted “China Dream”. Because he has promised “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” when the official statistics show it is on the way to becoming one of the fastest ageing countries on earth.

We alreadyknew that China was heading for a population collapse. That’s why Xi dumped the One Child Policy in 2015. The advent of the Two Child Policy did have the desired effect. The number of births surged. But only for one year. [More…]