SEEDLESS DRAGON:

Thanks in part to the impact of the one child policy on its demography, it is fast going to find itself with a shortage of working age people relative to the number of young and elderly who will rely on those of working age for their taxes and other forms of support.

Introduced in the late 1970s, the one child policy was an experiment in totalitarian control. China's birth rate fell from over 5 to just over 1.5 compared with a birth rate of 2.2 needed for any nation to sustain its population numbers. Most of that fall in fertility however occurred before the one child policy took effect, as the country began its transition from a rural economy where large families were an economic necessity to an increasingly urban economy where large families are hard to house. Chinese families over time have also shown a preference for boys over girls: again because of perceived economic benefit. In 2014, there were 100 female babies to every 114 males, well out of kilter. Sadly, infanticide is a factor. This also works against higher rates of population growth.

China's rate of population growth peaked at around 2.74% in 1970. It has fallen rapidly since then and today stands at around 0.61%. The prediction is that this will fall to zero by around 2030 from which point on the total population of China will be in decline.

Follow @brothersjudd