China’s population is expected to decline this year, more than a decade earlier than initially forecast, according to a government-backed scholar.

The number of people aged 65 and older surpassed 14 per cent of the total in 2021, making China an “aged” society, rather than an “ageing” one, Zheng Bingwen, director of international social security studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.

“The adverse impact of ageing is the slowdown in economic growth,” he told a finance conference in Beijing. “Ageing will lead to declines in savings, which in turn lead to falls in investment, which will be a huge thing in China.”