Party's plans look to deal with changes

On Wednesday, the Communist Party of China will hold its 19th National Congress. Held every five years, the national Party congresses herald important changes for the country. The last congress saw two critical changes: Xi Jinping became top leader and the Chinese labor force began to decline. The former brought conspicuous improvements to the Party and captured the world's attention. The latter signaled an aging society, and that China's economic development had entered a new normal.

Traditional economics textbooks say that output is determined by two variables: capital and labor. The Chinese economic miracle over the past 39 years has combined heavy capital investment with a large population.

But investment has hit a ceiling, and China's labor force has declined. This shortfall in surplus labor is called the Lewis turning point, and China reached it in the last five years. In fact, in 2012 GDP growth dropped from the previous year's 9.5 percent to 7.7 percent. In subsequent years, GDP growth has declined to 6.7 percent. In 2030, a huge population decline is expected.