China’s decision to raise the maximum age for most civil service jobs from 35 to 38 is not a benign gesture of social justice; it’s a strategic move born of demographic necessity. For three decades, the age-35 cut-off was a notorious, unofficial gatekeeper, casting a shadow over the careers of mid-career professionals—a phenomenon rightly dubbed the “curse of 35.”
Now, with the Chinese workforce shrinking and a rapidly ageing population threatening economic stability, the government is forced to abandon its outdated, youth-obsessed hiring bias. This policy shift, coupled with the progressive delaying of the legal retirement age (now up to 63 for men and up to 58 for women in white-collar roles), paints a clear picture: Beijing is scrambling to maximize its human capital to stave off a full-blown demographic and fiscal crisis.
The Flawed Logic of ‘Ageism’
The “curse of 35” in China has been an inexcusable economic self-own. By systematically excluding workers over this arbitrary age (based on the toxic, often-unspoken bias that they are less energetic, less committed to the grueling “996” work culture, and more expensive) China has wasted valuable talent and exacerbated employment anxiety.
This doesn’t only affect only the tech sector, it infects the entire job market, even for basic service roles. While the extension of the civil service age limit is a welcome first step and a powerful symbolic counter-signal to the private sector, it is only a bandage.
The reality remains that the 38,100 vacancies in the upcoming civil service exam will still be fiercely contested, and an extension to 38 is hardly a sweeping victory for an experienced, highly educated workforce that faces a cliff edge in their mid-career. The fact that the age cap for those with master’s or doctoral degrees has also only been marginally extended to 43 from 40 suggests a continued, if slightly softer, preference for younger staff. Age discrimination in the Chinese job market remains deeply entrenched.
Possible Solutions to Secure China’s Future and Cure the Ageing Crisis
If China is serious about long-term stability and addressing the sheer scale of its demographic time bomb (with the over-60 cohort expected to reach over 400 million by 2035) it must go far beyond tinkering with civil service entrance ages.
Firstly, the central government needs to move from merely releasing “guidelines” to implementing and strictly enforcing a National Anti-Age Discrimination Law with meaningful penalties. This law must explicitly target the use of age caps in all job advertisements and recruitment processes, making the “curse of 35” an actual legal liability for state-owned enterprises and private companies alike.
Also, the forced extension of working life must be matched by a transparent and sustainable pension reform. The current gradual delay of the legal retirement age is designed to shore up the pension system, but China needs a more robust, multi-pillar retirement safety net to incentivize older workers to stay productive without simply burdening them with the state’s fiscal problems.
Finally, to truly value experience, the state must heavily subsidize mid-career vocational training and re-skilling programs focused on future-proof sectors. Furthermore, the government should champion flexible work arrangements and consultancy roles for workers over 40, thereby leveraging their expertise without demanding adherence to the physically punishing “996” model that drives ageism. The economic future of China depends on a holistic cure, not just a minor adjustment to the entry point for the national civil service exam.
Bottom Line
The question is whether Beijing has the political will to institute a genuine cultural shift, or if this new age limit is merely an empty political gesture that will be quietly bypassed by hiring managers favouring younger, cheaper, and less demanding candidates. The world is watching to see if China will finally start valuing wisdom over youthful exuberance.
