Chinese demographer warns of potential middle-income trap due to aging labor force, stagnant manufacturing, low fertility, and local government crises.

A Chinese demographer warns that China may struggle to escape the middle-income trap due to a rapidly aging labor force, stagnating manufacturing sector, low fertility rate, and local government crises. China must implement significant reforms to close the gap with the US economy. Some experts still predict China's economic growth rate at around 5.5% due to its high savings rate and booming new industries, such as artificial intelligence.