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HONG KONG — China said Friday it would raise its retirement age for the first time in decades, as the world’s second-largest economy struggles with falling birth rates and an aging workforce. The country’s top legislative body approved a draft proposal to gradually implement the changes, state media reported Friday. China's retirement ages are among the lowest in the world and had remained unchanged since they were set in the 1950s. For those born in 1965, retirement would be delayed by one month, according to a chart published by Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The changes have been the subject of heated discussion among the Chinese public since they were proposed earlier this year.

Persons: China's, Young Organizations: National People’s, Xinhua Locations: HONG KONG — China, China’s, Weibo

China’s 9.56 million births are a decrease of almost 10% from 2021, when about 10.6 million babies were born. The figures announced Tuesday are the start of what is expected to be a long decline in China’s population, which the U.N. says could reach 800 million by the end of the century. Although many countries around the world are experiencing population decline, this is the first time China’s population has contracted since 1961, after a three-year famine spurred by then-leader Mao Zedong’s industrialization drive, which is estimated to have killed tens of millions of people. While the one-child policy was effective in curbing population growth, critics say it resulted in rights abuses and a disproportionate number of men compared with women, especially in the countryside. If Chinese officials really want to encourage children, they should “give money to those who have more babies,” she said.

Easing Covid measures means accepting a rise in cases that is likely to get worse as winter approaches. Residents buy medications at a pharmacy in Shijiazhuang, China, last week. “There will always be complaints.”Though many people in China still support “zero-Covid,” the strict measures have also stoked growing resentment. China is thus now facing a dual challenge, said Donald Low, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “You’re going to see the Hong Kong story played out on a much larger scale” in mainland China, Low said.

It shows Xi rebuking Trudeau over alleged leaks from a 10-minute conversation the two leaders had on Tuesday, their first meeting in more than three years. “Everything we discussed has been leaked to the paper; that’s not appropriate,” a smiling Xi told Trudeau through a translator. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the video showed a “normal” conversation between the two leaders. Asked about the video at a news conference in Bali on Wednesday, Trudeau confirmed that he had raised the question of foreign interference with Xi. “This is something we always do, and we will continue to.”Trudeau sidestepped a question about whether the confrontation was a “power play” by Xi.

☆ First Russia, now China? Europe doesn’t appear ready to ‘decouple’ from Beijing just yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Marie Brockling | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Scholz was the first leader of a Group of 7 nations to visit China since the start of the pandemic, which was first detected there in 2019. China’s relations with Europe have deteriorated amid tensions over Taiwan, human rights issues and Beijing’s tacit support for Russia in its war on Ukraine. China has welcomed Scholz’s visit, saying it would “contribute to world peace, stability and growth.” But it received considerable pushback in Europe. Fears over Chinese interferenceScholz’s one-day visit to Beijing comes amid heightened fears in Europe over Chinese interference abroad. Wang suggested Europe could have the “best of both worlds” by playing a mediating role between Beijing and Washington.

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