Could a huge wave of foreign immigrants help China cope with its ageing population? That’s the contention of a US population researcher, who has sparked controversy by saying that China should open its borders.
In an article for online platform the Conversation, Professor Dudley L. Poston Jnr of Texas A&M University says “If an active immigration policy is not implemented, by the beginning of the next century, China will be half as large as it is today and will be one of the oldest countries – if not the oldest country – in the world.”
The academic, who says he has “studied China’s population for over 40 years” says “without the influx of a young immigrant workforce,” the problems China faces because of its ageing population “will be far worse.”
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Professor Poston contends that ‘the demographic issue confronting China now represents one of the most serious problems facing the country in centuries.” and points out that “With a fertility rate of 1.1 children per woman – way below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a native population – and more deaths each year than births, China’s future is one of declining population.”
At the same time, the researcher says that a mere 0.1% of China’s population is foreign-born – “that’s the smallest percentage of any major country in the world.”
He adds that solutions proffered to date – such as a plan to raise the country’s statutory retirement age over the next five years – are nothing more than temporary fixes, and points out that if present demographic trends continue, China will lose “more than half its current population in around 75 years” in turn “causing untold economic problems.”
