My Take | Can China’s elderly become a silver economic lining?
- State Council rolls out national blueprint to improve life for older generations, with hopes of new investment opportunities
- But Beijing must examine costs and impediments in healthcare, wealth management and other sectors or risk social instability and unwise spending
The document issued by the State Council is part of the country’s attempts to lighten the enormous needs of its rapidly ageing population and turn them into investment opportunities in the hope of igniting growth in the sluggish economy.
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The document contains 26 measures that can be divided into four categories.
The first category directs state and private investment to provide services for elderly people, such as food delivery, canteens, community health centres, homes for the aged, day care services and mobile bathing service vehicles.
The second backs the nurturing of more service providers, including motivating state enterprises to set aside land for elderly service facilities and encouraging more social organisations and big private enterprises to tap into the market.
To boost research and product development, there are plans to build 10 silver economy industrial estates to be affiliated with existing industrial estates.