Aging population may be catalyst for change

SHANGHAI - The increasingly troubling demographics of an aging population in the financial hub of Shanghai may be just the catalyst needed to revise the country's current population policies.

According to the local population authorities, the birth rate of Shanghai's registered population is "at a very low level" in the world. In 2009, the total fertility rate in Shanghai was 0.83, while it was 2.6 globally, including 1.7 in developed Western countries and 1.8 in China.

"The aging population is a serious problem. The city's long-term, low birth rate will structurally skew the population, which will create a series of social problems," said Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission.