Social Security Crisis · Full chronicle and history

In a conversation, Morgan Stanley's Chief Economist for China, Xing Ziqiang, pointed out that China's social security expenditure accounts for only about 8% of GDP, far below the OECD average of 25% and the levels of developing countries with similar per capita GDP, and also mentioned group disparities in the enjoyment of public services.

On September 19, population expert Huang Wenzheng published an article refuting National Health Commission Director Lei Haichao's statement that the labor force is sufficient. He pointed out that 8-million annual births cannot sustain long-term scale and warned of a demographic collapse in 20 years without substantial improvements in fertility support. The article was subsequently deleted.

On September 14, a community in Dongying City, Shandong Province announced the implementation of the "Young-Old Service for the Elderly" project, encouraging people aged 60 to 70 to provide public services for seniors aged 70 to 90. The policy sparked heated public debate, with netizens questioning it as a disguised forced labor amid pension shortfalls.

On September 5, netizens reported that nearly two months after the floods in Hengzhou, Guangxi, some elderly residents under the Five Guarantees system and impoverished households are still sleeping on damp floors because their beds were washed away and they received no aid. Volunteers have now launched a survey and fundraising campaign to buy folding beds, sparking public questioning of disaster relief distribution and government support capabilities.

The World Economic Forum released the 2026 Global Gender Gap Report, ranking China 96th overall, with the sex ratio at birth indicator ranking third from the bottom globally.

On September 14, Lei Haichao, Director of the National Health Commission, stated that in the face of negative population growth, the fundamentals of China's total population remain unchanged. He proposed actively promoting views on marriage and childbearing, resisting negative views on marriage and childbearing, and simultaneously promoting the integration of childcare and preschool education while reducing the costs of giving birth and raising children.

Affected by the decline in the birth population and the concentration of population in urban areas, the number of primary schools in China has rapidly decreased. Data from the Ministry of Education shows that the number of regular primary schools nationwide has decreased by about 29,700 in five years. Many places have begun to revitalize and utilize idle rural primary and secondary school buildings, converting them into facilities such as elderly care service centers, highlighting the background of accelerating low birth rates and aging population.

On September 9, the financial account Gelonghui Tuji Tianxia released data stating that the number of primary schools in China has decreased by approximately 86% over 45 years.

On August 28, official data showed that China's annual birth population in 2025 was only 7.92 million, continuing the downward trend in births.

1961 was the most brutal year of China's Three Years of Natural Disasters, during which over 10 million Chinese people starved to death, and cannibalism even occurred in rural areas. Despite this, 9.49 million newborns were born that year.