What Happens When China Goes 'Gray'?

What Happens When China Goes 'Gray'?
To go with AFP story 'Lifestyle-China-tourism-Communism,FEATURE' by Marianne Barriaux This photo taken on April 16, 2011 shows former Red Army soldier Pan Xianying, one of three remaining members of a famed Communist all-women army unit, as she sits in her room at a settlement near the city of Qionghai on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Nearly 100, Pan is one of the attractions of a 'red' tour amid a renewed nationwide interest in revolutionary ideals as the ruling Communist Party prepares to mark its 90th anniversary. AFP PHOTO / ED JONES (Photo credit should read Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages)
To go with AFP story 'Lifestyle-China-tourism-Communism,FEATURE' by Marianne Barriaux This photo taken on April 16, 2011 shows former Red Army soldier Pan Xianying, one of three remaining members of a famed Communist all-women army unit, as she sits in her room at a settlement near the city of Qionghai on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Nearly 100, Pan is one of the attractions of a 'red' tour amid a renewed nationwide interest in revolutionary ideals as the ruling Communist Party prepares to mark its 90th anniversary. AFP PHOTO / ED JONES (Photo credit should read Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages)

As China's major trading partners try to control rising public pension and health care costs, they may not realize they also have an important stake in China's ongoing struggle to fashion a safety net for its own rapidly aging population. Many observers assume China has no pensions or healthcare insurance for the 185 million people over the age of 60 (13.7% of population), the highest official retirement age for most workers. They may well believe this explains why Chinese families save so much–more than 30% of household income–and therefore spend less on consumer goods, including imports from trading partners.

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