China to lose labor advantage in a decade, scholar

China's advantage in cheap labor will disappear and its industrial structure will be forced to upgrade ten yens later when the "baby boom" generation born in the 1950s and 60s enter their old age.

The remark was made by Zuo Xuejin, Vice-president of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, HK-based Wen Wai Po reported lately.

It is learned that China's birth rate reached its peak in the 1950s and 60s, and began to drop in the 70s when the state began to push its "one-child" policy. People born during the "baby boom" will gradually enter their old age after 2015, putting an end to the country's "demographic bonus" (low labor cost and rich labor resources).

By then, the huge social welfare will be support by a smaller-sized workforce, and Chinese labors will no long be "cheap". The country's labor-intensive manufacturing will gradually lose its international competitiveness and, as a result, will shift to countries of lower labor costs such as India and Bangladesh in south Asia. China's industrial structure will then be forced to update.

By People's Daily Online