On Thursday, China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, issued a sharply worded commentary accusing Western media of deliberately ignoring China’s development while focusing on India overtaking China as the world’s most populous nation. The commentary claimed that Western media used this topic to “bad mouth” China and advocate for decoupling between China and the West.
CCTV criticized the subtext in Western media reports in recent years, claiming that it portrayed China’s development as being in “big trouble” and predicted that China’s decline would have negative repercussions on the global economy when its demographic dividend disappears. However, CCTV defended China’s economic progress, stating that China has developed steadily and sustainably with its large population, creating an economic miracle.
Data released on Wednesday by the United Nations showed that India is expected to have almost 3 million more people than China by the middle of this year, making it the world’s most populous nation. CCTV accused the United States of using the UN report to further contain China’s development and advocate for decoupling between China and the West.
CCTV argued that the Western media’s focus on population size as a measure of development achievements lacked a basic understanding of the law of population development. It pointed out that the decrease in birth rate and decline in willingness to have children are common problems faced by the whole world in the current era of human society’s development. CCTV also highlighted that Western developed countries also face issues such as labor shortages due to their aging populations.
Last year, China’s population fell for the first time in six decades, a historic turn of events that is expected to lead to a long period of decline in citizen numbers, with potential implications for China’s economy and the global economy.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin emphasized that population dividends depend not only on quantity but also on quality. He stated that while population is important, talents are also crucial, and China has taken active measures to respond to population aging.
In Beijing’s Guomao business district, a 40-year-old finance professional named Liu expressed that India’s population surpassing China’s was an “inevitable phenomenon,” but he remained confident in China’s economic strength dominating the global stage. Liu stated that India’s population growth would not have a major impact on China and would not affect China significantly.
CCTV’s commentary reflects China’s perception that Western media reports on its population decline and India’s population growth are biased and aimed at undermining China’s development. China emphasizes its economic progress and downplays the significance of population size, while highlighting the challenges faced by Western countries with aging populations. The ongoing tension between China and the West, including the United States, is evident in the accusations made by CCTV, which sees a deliberate attempt to contain China’s rise in the global arena.
