BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Upon a document released by the Chinese government to comprehensively open the aged service market by 2020, 29 provinces and municipalities in China have by far successively proposed opening-up of the aged service market, of which 26 provinces and cities have clearly proposed to open up the market to foreign investors, the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the country will likely take measures such as further simplifying administrative examination and approval, encouraging private capital to enter the aged service market, to better cope with the aging society and tap the new energy for economic growth.
In addition, it will improve the financial support policies, expand the investment and financing channels, and coordinate the old-age service planning with the urban and rural planning, and the overall land use planning, to resolve the financing difficulties, land use difficulties and development difficulties faced by the aged care service industry.
Industry insiders note that the accelerating opening-up of the aged service market is to cope with the acceleration of the aging society and also to promote enhancement of the quality of domestic aged services.
According to a report recently released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, in 2017, the number of elderly people over 60 years old in China has exceeded 240 million, accounting for 17.3 percent of the total population. By 2020, the number of elderly people over the age of 60 will increase to around 255 million, accounting for 17.8 percent of the total population. It is expected that by the middle of this century, China will see the elderly population reach 480 million.
The huge elderly consumer group means that the demand for aged care services will show a robust growth in the future, said industry insiders. (Edited by Hu Pingchao, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
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