THE Western news media’s focus on China’s recovering economy, following a significant downturn last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, has been unrelenting. There has been extensive speculation about the potential crash of China’s economy, yet few have delved into the critical questions: What is the likelihood of China’s economy collapsing? And if it does, what impact would this have on the global economy?
Every day, a flood of articles from the United States, United Kingdom and European Union underscores China’s challenges. The country is grappling with a shrinking and ageing population as a result of its one-child policy. This policy, in effect from 1979 to 2016, was designed to curb population growth as a means to alleviate poverty. Furthermore, China’s youth unemployment rate reached a record high of 21.3% in June, prompting Chinese authorities to cease the release of age-related job data. By July, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas of China was reported to be 5.3%.
