How China commits to improve life for the elderly

The Double Ninth Festival, also known as Senior's Day, is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. It is a day to honor and show respect to the elderly.

Ensuring that the elderly can live a happy and fulfilling life is something Chinese President Xi Jinping has always borne in mind. During his inspection tours across the country, Xi regularly visits elderly care facilities to converse with the residents and check on how they are doing.

On the eve of Seniors' Day, which falls on Friday this year, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, expressed the hope that the elderly are well provided for, enjoy their lives, and continue their pursuits.

Calling the seniors "valuable assets," the Chinese leader urged efforts to focus on addressing their pressing concerns, improve relevant policies and measures, and foster a sound social environment.

"Whether a society is a happy one or not, it is very important to see whether the elderly are enjoying a happy life," Xi has said.

As of the end of 2023, China's population aged 60 and above reached 297 million, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total population, and those aged 65 and older numbered 217 million, or 15.4 percent of the total, according to the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs.

As China enters an aging society, Xi has always been a champion of old age care centers. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, he has given a series of instructions and led the endeavor to develop the country's elderly-care services and pension system.

With much effort, China brought 1.07 billion people under basic old-age insurance coverage by the end of March 2024, according to data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

In the resolution adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in July, China will refine the policies and mechanisms for developing elderly care programs and industries, and develop the silver economy and support the creation of jobs tailored for elderly people.

To boost the supply of basic elderly care services, China will develop community-based facilities, improve the operation mechanisms for public-run institutions, encourage and guide the participation of enterprises and other non-governmental actors, and promote mutual-aid elderly care and the integration of medical care and elderly care.

By the end of 2023, the proportion of nursing beds in elderly care institutions across China had risen to 58.9 percent, meeting the target set in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) ahead of schedule.