Beijing Hosts Seminar on Elderly Care

The seminar on the Practical Framework and Prospect of China and Britain's Cooperation on Elderly Care is held at Beijing Normal University on March 24, 2015. [Women of China/Zhang Yuan]

A seminar on the Practical Framework and Prospect of China and Britain's Cooperation on Elderly Care was held at Beijing Normal University on March 24, 2015.

By 2015, the number of those in China aged 60 and above reached 212 million, among whom around 23 percent are unable to properly care for themselves. Among those over 65, around 65 percent suffer from chronic diseases. China has become a country with the largest ageing population in the world.

Under these circumstances, there is a huge demand for elderly care with total spending in the sector estimated to exceed 10 trillion yuan (U.S.$1.61 trillion) over the next 15 years. The main issue, however, is lack of infrastructure — which falls far short of offering the actual elderly care that is most needed. This issue outweighs all other factors, including economic and technological challenges.

Given the situation, the seminar presented a review and summary of future China-British cooperation on elderly care. Some attendants pointed out that a system of cooperation must be established to enhance the work of relevant institutions and strengthen government support.

China Philanthropy Research Institute (CPRI)  has proposed to build a demand-oriented elderly care system on the basis of increased government spending, through conducting surveys about the market demands, strengthening supervision of the services, and promoting and enhancing job training in the field. Meanwhile, advanced technologies and concerted efforts on all parts should be involved to improve elderly care.

All these envisions and proposals, however, would be futile unless there is actual implementation. Hence, it was strongly advocated that a stable system of cooperation be established to promote active interaction and further sharing of resources, and ultimately pave the way for the implementation of relevant policies.

The Seminar was organized by CPRI and sponsored by the China Prosperity Strategy Fund in association with the British Embassy.

Officials from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, and relevant local departments joined experts and business representatives in the elderly care field from Britain in the discussions.

Zhen Bingliang, vice minister of Civil Affairs, gives a speech at the seminar. [Women of China/Zhang Yuan]

Cai Fei, official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, gives a speech at the seminar. [Women of China/Zhang Yuan]

Le Tian, chief secretary of the British Embassy, gives a speech at the seminar.  [Women of China/Zhang Yuan]

Wang Zhenyao, director of the China Philanthropy Research Institute, gives a speech at the seminar. [Women of China/Zhang Yuan]

(Women of China)