Chinese lawmakers have voted to gradually raise the statutory retirement age, the first adjustment to the retirement policy since the 1950s. The change will unfold over 15 years, starting in 2025.

Official data showed that China has become a moderately aging society. There were 297 million people aged 60 and above in the country at the end of 2023, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total population, with those aged 65 and above reaching 217 million, taking up 15.4 percent of the total.

According to projections, the number of people aged 60 and above in China will surpass 400 million around 2035, accounting for over 30 percent of the total.

China's working-age population, those aged 16 to 59, has been declining since 2012 due to the natural consequence of population aging. Nevertheless, the working-age population retained an enormous size of approximately 860 million people at the end of 2023, taking up 61.3 percent of the total population.

China's human resources remain abundant, but to fully tap into the potential and ensure long-term sustainability, it is necessary to make policy adjustments to better leverage this advantage, said Zhao Zhong, dean of the School of Labor and Human Resources of Renmin University of China.