Final Preparations for Conference on China Pension Reform

November 7, 2001

Final preparations are in place for Cato’s Conference on "China's Pension System: Crisis and Challenge," to be held November 8th, in Beijing. The conference, co-sponsored with the China Center for Economic Research features a lineup of top American and Chinese experts on public pension reform, including: Sun Jian Yong, Justin Yifu Lin, John Greenwood, Jose Pinera, Michael Tanner, Mao Yushi, and Liu Ming Kang.

China, the world’s most populous nation, is also the world’s fastest aging country. The restructuring of state-owned enterprises is placing a further strain on the country’s retirement system. China’s entry into the WTO will speed economic change. Faced with these challenges, the Third Plenary session of the 14 th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China called for the creation of a new retirement program, “integrating social pooling with individual accounts.” Now China is struggling with the transition to this new market-based system.

This conference will provide an overview of the need to reform China’s retirement system and the crucial questions facing China’s leaders: How far will China go toward a fully funded system? What type of investment will be allowed? How will the transition be financed?

A number of top Chinese government, academic, and media officials are expected to attend.

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