Pensions · Full chronicle and history

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.

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.

Residents of Victoria Bay in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao discovered that land planned for a kindergarten and a community hospital had been mortgaged and auctioned off as industrial land. Since July 27, they have been gathering outside the residential complex, demanding that higher-level authorities intervene and investigate.

During a rights defense gathering by property owners at Victoria Bay, police set up human walls and privacy screens; that evening, some owners were cleared by police and taken away.

Lu Kewen posted that, excluding rural elderly, China's pensions are higher than those in Japan, South Korea, and France when calculated by the ratio of national income, and argued that this situation puts excessive pressure on public finance and will inevitably lead to comprehensive cuts in the future.

Affected by short-term heavy rainfall, a mudslide occurred in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan, causing road closures. Approximately 2,300 tourists had to leave their buses and trek several kilometers down the mountain in the dark through the landslide area.

A Caixin interview cited data stating that as of the end of 2024, approximately 180 million urban and rural residents were receiving a basic pension, averaging 246 yuan per month; in 2024, the average monthly pension for urban employees was approximately 3,825 yuan, more than 15 times the former.

The Washington Post obtained two of North Korea's latest smartphone models, revealing that their official applications cover functions such as e-wallets, ride-hailing, food delivery, movie tickets, navigation, online banking, and pharmaceutical delivery.

The article states that Beijing has adopted measures such as retaliating against the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act, restricting foreign direct investment, and implementing export controls on rare earths to Japan to maintain its export markets.

Official sources in Jiuzhaigou claim that tourists have been safely evacuated with no casualties, framing the emergency response as a "heartwarming protection" and "a narrow escape without incident."

After Lu Kewen publicly discussed the pension gap in China and the issue of pensions for those inside the system, his Weibo account was 404'd.

North Korea currently has over 6.35 million mobile phone users, with about 24 domestic mobile phone brands nationwide. QR code payments are already available on the streets of Pyongyang and at some roadside stalls.

Staff at a market in Fangshan, Beijing, inspect meat vendors' knives to ensure they comply with regulations, are chained, and that their size and sharpness do not exceed standards.

The article states that China's exports reached $3.8 trillion last year, setting a record trade surplus of $1.2 trillion, the largest in history.

An article in Foreign Affairs estimates that China's share of global GDP has fallen from a peak of 18.5% in 2021 to 16.7% by official estimates, with actual estimates being around 15%.

North Korea opened mobile phone services in 2008, and has since gradually developed its own mobile phone user base and domestic mobile phone brands.

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.