Analysis: China’s retirement age reform much needed, but not silver bullet for economic, demographic woes

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Victoria University’s Dr Peng notes that while raising the retirement years is one alternative to China’s socioeconomic problems, it is not a long-term repair. &nbsp,

She said,” The Chinese government also needs to raise the country’s reproduction rate to solve the problem in the long run.” It is essential to rely on technology to improve and improve the quality of the labor power.

The increase in social security rewards is not a problem that affects China only. Related circumstances have recently occurred in nations like the US and France, according to Dr. Tan Ern Ser, Associate Professor of Sociology at NUS. &nbsp,

According to him, these countries also deal with the economic viability of their social protection systems in the face of declining population. &nbsp,

” This has to do with the rapidly ageing population, along with declining amounts of younger people contributing to social surveillance”, Dr Tan added. &nbsp,

The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences has said in 2019 that the pension system will run out of money by 2035 if there’s no more transformation, with about a fourth of the country’s provincial-level areas running income budget shortfalls, according to fund government information.

” If the pension age is no extended, resources may work out in the near future, state in a decade, and social security may not be able to fulfill its commitments. Extending the retirement age would slow down that process” .&nbsp,

According to Mr. Mo Rong, the mind of the Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Security, who spoke with People’s Daily, the decision was made to advertise job while also promoting rights and interests, as well as work to promote a fairer work atmosphere.

This is the first time our nation has established strict laws protecting the rights and passions of over-age employees. It will address issues like the previous ability to apply the security of the rights and interests of over-age employees, according to Mr. Mo. &nbsp,

A moderate increase in the labor supply will be the quick result, according to Dr. Peng, starting in January 2025. Although the raise is “very small,” this will help to offset the negative effects of a declining labor caused by population ageing.

In the next 10 times, about 300 million people now aged 50 to 60- China’s largest statistical team- are set to leave the workplace at a time when income budgets are now stretched. &nbsp,

They may not have a job, despite the report number of 11.7 million college graduates who are scheduled to graduate this time. Data from the country’s data ministry in August showed that the jobless rate for 16 to 24-year-olds in China, excluding individuals, rose to 17.1 per share in July from 13.2 per share in the previous month.

Additionally, the policy is anticipated to ease pressure on China’s overburdened pension system, she said, as it reduces the number of new retirees and increases contributions from older workers who work longer, she said. &nbsp,

Despite this urgency, Dr Zhao acknowledges the delicate timing of the policy’s rollout, given the current economic environment. &nbsp,

Dr. Zhao argued that there would be less concern about the policy’s impact on employment opportunities in a more favorable job market, saying:” High youth unemployment makes it difficult to argue for the postponement of the retirement age.

There would be less concern about the proposal if youth unemployment were low. People are now concerned that if the retirement age is raised, the employment situation will worsen.

However, China must take action, and it would be wiser to do it now.

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Super Typhoon Yagi slams into southern China

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Super Typhoon Yagi slammed into southern China’s Hainan island on Friday ( Sep 6 ) bringing winds of over 230kmh in what is expected to be the strongest storm to hit the area in over a decade. Hainan province evacuated over 400, 000 people ahead of the tide’s expected land,Continue Reading

All in your hand: Chinese internet giant Tencent announces global expansion plans for palm scan technology

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Dr Sim explained that arteries, or “vascular fingerprint” in technical terms, are very precise and hard to parody. ” It can distinguish between identical twins, which would fool most facial recognition systems”, he said.

He added that acquiring a hand spirit image is likewise smart, making it “more safe compared to contact-based biometric like fingerprints”. He claimed that being” contactless” does n’t require as frequently to clean the surface.

Dr. Kong mentioned that this technology helps to lower the risk of identity fraud from website users. ” In common, it is hard to get a clear finger image without customer participation. Except for some artists, most people do not have hand graphics online”.

Nonetheless, Dr Sim cautioned that one disadvantage of scanning spirit knowledge is that “it reveals health conditions, such as respiration levels, conception, and stress levels”.

Resolving Problems

Palm images can become utilised for payment, presence tracking, and health information management. Some of these programs may be more challenging to implement than others, though.

Local laws and regulations governing data privacy and security are essential in several international markets. &nbsp,

Google Cloud responded by saying that they would abide by the national laws and rules of each variety nation. Because we have built local data centers and servers in their respective regions, Mr. Eric Li, Deputy General Manager and Global Chief Architect of Tencent Cloud AI, said,” We do n’t have any data transfer back to our data centers.”

In a bid to better serve the growing ecosystem of international partners and clients, Tencent Cloud has also established a worldwide network of nine professional support facilities across Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the USA, and Germany, all of which will be providing round-the-clock specialized service and support.

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Taipei former mayor arrested in graft probe

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TAIPEI: A former mayor of Taipei who heads a small opposition party was arrested early on Saturday (Aug 31) as part of a graft probe of a major property development in the Taiwanese capital. Ko Wen-je, mayor from 2014 to 2022 and who came third in January’s presidential election, wasContinue Reading

China’s Gen Z consumers shift from chasing status and trends to be ‘more rational and selective’

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“CAUTIOUS” APPROACH IN BOOSTING Use

Since 2021, China’s government has introduced a series of procedures aimed at redistributing income and wealth, generally framed under the symbol of” popular prosperity”, says Mr Xu.

This has led to reprisals on high-paying companies like tutoring, the financial industry, and the software market. &nbsp,

” While these methods were intended to address income inequality, the effects have been significant, with the economy suffering greatly.”

Yet, there seems to be a change in the government’s strategy. According to Mr. Xu, new Third Plenum policies may recommend a move toward encouraging urbanization and stimulating migrant workers to settle in cities, work for a regular job, and perhaps even buy homes. &nbsp,

Instead of focusing only on lowering the earnings of the rich, the goal is to encourage growth in income among the lower-income groups. This technique, while encouraging, is unlikely to produce immediate results, and perhaps get five to 10 years to materialise- if it succeeds at all, Mr Xu adds.

Mr. Yu remarked that” the state is very evident that they do need to pull domestic consumption, and today’s situation is not appropriate for them.”

They want to really deepen the reform and finish a number of tasks in order to improve the Taiwanese economy’s quality, not just its quantity.

Amid these coverage shifts, Chinese homes, especially in the country’s largest towns, are exhibiting a designated caution in their investing. The rapid drop in housing costs in these urban centers is one of the main causes of this. &nbsp,

Previous tenacious housing markets started to deteriorate in mid-2023, according to EIU’s Mr. Xu, following the trend of smaller towns that saw value declines in 2021 and 2022. This decline has resulted in a bad success effect, where people’s spending is influenced by both their perceived wealth and their income.

The government’s assault on well-paying work in major Chinese cities has even contributed to this precaution. For example, investment banking incomes have dropped to as low as quarter of what they once were, causing consumer spending to decline. This trend is further demonstrated by a 7 % decrease in China’s personal income tax income this year.

” If you see a really small cut in personal income tax paid, that may indicate that all those who enjoy good jobs may have experienced a significant decline. So that’s possibly explaining why usage has been more careful”.

Kantar Worldpanel’s Mr Yu believes there’s a lot of “big intentions” behind driving use, although those are “grand approaches to translate into substantial policy, and may take some time”.

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