Elderly women eat laba porridge at an elderly care center in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, January 16, 2024. [WANG HUABIN/FOR CHINA DAILY]
China has seen new growth opportunities due to its aging population, and its recent decision to promote the “silver economy” will significantly address the needs of the aging population and provide new impetus to the economy, officials said on Monday.
“The development of the silver economy is an effective measure to promote high-quality development. It covers a wide range of sectors with a long industrial chain and different types of companies covering primary, secondary and tertiary industries. It creates new business opportunities,” said Zhang Shixin, deputy secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Zhang said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that the new move to boost the silver economy aims to address the core concerns of the elderly and improve their well-being.
Liu Ming, director of the Social Development Department of the NDRC, said that economic activities related to the silver economy provide products and services for seniors and have enormous growth potential that is not yet fully exploited, especially in areas that serve the diverse and meet the personalized needs of the growing population.
The State Council, China's cabinet, recently released a directive encouraging companies and industry participants in sectors such as accommodation, healthcare, tourism and financial advisory to optimize services and products for the elderly.
Liu pointed to the measures outlined in the new document, saying it will help boost the development of related industries and better address the specific needs of the elderly.
With a population of 1.41 billion people, the country is facing an increasingly serious problem of aging. According to the country's annual statistical communique on national economic and social development in 2022, there were more than 280 million people over 60 years old at the end of 2022, about 20 percent of the total population.
He Yaqiong, head of the Department of Consumer Goods Industry in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stressed the importance of closing the digital divide among the elderly, saying this will accelerate efforts to promote the development of the smart elderly care sector.
The focus will be on areas such as the internet as well as healthcare, smart nursing homes and smart communities, he said.
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