![Elderly people in China.](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/china-inequality-aging-population-01232024-1.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
There are many negative consequences of China’s accelerated population decline. But while China’s demographic crisis looks like that of other neighboring countries, it is coming at a lower level of economic development, and the problems it poses are exacerbated by some of the unique characteristics of China’s political system.