China may well be the next big competitor for Asian migrant labour
The country that once transformed global labour markets by exporting workers could reshape Asian migration by beginning to import them
Quick Look
China, historically a major exporter of migrant labour, faces demographic decline and population drops that may eventually force the country to begin importing workers on a meaningful scale.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
China's population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, and employed numbers declined to 725 million from 740 million in 2023.
Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos is a Honduras-born journalist based in Taiwan covering Asia–Latin America relations, geopolitics, and supply-chain issues.
For decades, China was one of the world’s largest sources of migrant labour. Its workers staffed factories at home and built infrastructure abroad. But demographic decline may eventually force China to contemplate a striking reversal: importing workers on a meaningful scale.
That change is not imminent. China still has a vast labour force and substantial youth unemployment. It is investing heavily in industrial automation, extending working lives through a gradual increase in the retirement age, and trying to move workers from regions with surplus labour to where employers struggle to recruit.
Yet the direction of travel is becoming difficult to ignore. China’s population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025. The number of employed people declined to 725 million from 740 million in 2023.
Open Questions
- When will China officially start importing migrant labor?
- Which sectors will experience labor shortages first?
