context: Given that the Chinese elderly population's total consumption amount will constitute 8-11 percent of the PRC's GDP by 2030, a trend that will most likely continue in the decades to come, Beijing is rolling out a series of policies to further develop the elderly economy.
The State Council recently published a document regarding the development of the silver economy and further enhancement of elderly welfare. Emphasising the need to focus on the diverse requirements of the elderly and cultivate potential industries, proposals include
- strengthening innovation in elderly care products
- creating new forms of smart health and anti-aging industries
- further developing the rehabilitation assistive equipment industry
- enriching the development of elderly care financial products
- expanding tourism service formats
The document also proposed plans to construct economic industrial parks for the elderly in the following regions
- Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei
- Yangtze River Delta
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
- Chengdu, Chongqing
Relying on platforms such as free trade pilot zones, various development zones, national comprehensive demonstration zones for expanding and opening up the service industry and national demonstration zones for the innovative development of service trade, the goal is to promote cross-regional and international cooperation in the elderly economy sector.
According to Yuan Xin 原新 Nankai University School of Economics professor and Ageing Development Strategy Research Centre director, China's elderly economy sector has vast development space. From the middle of this century, the PRC's ageing level will remain above 40 percent, ranking highly among other countries in the world.
As a result, the demand and consumption of the elderly will become the mainstream of social demand and consumption, forming a huge potential market for the elderly. With intergenerational changes in the elderly population, consumption upgrading will become a trend as well.
Yuan adds that the newly affluent groups born between the 1950-70s have benefited from the dividends of reform and opening up and therefore undergone significant changes in their concepts of consumption, consumption abilities and methods compared to their predecessors born in a time of material scarcity.
He predicts that this will generate new consumer demands, promote the development of an effective elderly consumption market and build new ecosystems for the elderly industry.