Does it matter if China gets old before it gets rich?

It is well known that China faces an aging problem.
The popular narrative has it that China surged up the growth league tables on the back of its giant population, reaping years of demographic dividends to become the world’s second largest economy. In this narrative, China’s population is now aging and so this growth story must come to an end. We think this is only partly right; there is no question that China is aging, but we disagree that this necessarily spells a disaster for growth or investors.