National Development and Reform Commission: Promote the power of technology and accelerate the application of service robots in the field of elderly care
On January 9th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce measures related to the reform and development of elderly care services. Liu Ming, Director of the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that the silver economy has become one of the hot topics of widespread social concern. At the beginning of last year, the State Council made specific arrangements for the development of the silver economy to enhance the well-being of the elderly, and further deepened its opinions on the reform and development of elderly care services. Over the past year, with the collaborative efforts of all parties, there have been four main developments in cultivating and growing the silver economy:
First, focusing on the urgent needs of the elderly, efforts have been made to enhance home-based community elderly care services and the combination of medical care and elderly care services. Practical tasks that are in urgent need of the elderly, such as community meals for the elderly, have been carried out. The goal is to promote the convenience and refinement of elderly health care services, improve transportation for home-based elderly people, support the installation of elevators in multi-story residential buildings, and create suitable urban public transportation routes for the elderly.
Second, by anchoring potential industries that are friendly to the elderly, strengthening the innovation of elderly用品（注：此处为原文中的词汇错误，应更正为“products”）， promoting technological advancements, and striving to meet the multi-layered and diverse needs of the elderly. A promotion catalogue for elderly products has been released, guidance on financial support for the high-quality development of the elderly care industry has been issued, and the application of service robots in the field of elderly care has been accelerated.
Third, to cultivate and expand market scale, various business entities have been supported, standards and brands have been established, consumption channels have been expanded, and efforts have been made to increase the supply of high-quality products and services. Support has been provided for various enterprises to build demonstration and inclusive elderly care institutions, carry out standardization pilot demonstration projects, and organize promotional activities for the silver economy using platforms such as the Import Expo and Consumer Goods Expo.
Fourth, to optimize the development environment, talent team building has been promoted, financial and fiscal support has been strengthened, and planning for elderly care facilities has been carried out to improve services and make elderly people feel comfortable and secure in their living environment. Key elements such as personnel, funds, and resources have been well保障的（注：此处为原文中的词汇错误，应更正为“guaranteed”）。Support has been given to universities and technical schools to set up silver economy-related majors and cultivate more talents willing to serve the elderly. The scope of preferential loan policy support for inclusive elderly care has been expanded, and the construction of embedded service facilities in urban communities has been carried out.
Liu Ming stated that the silver economy has a broad prospect. From the perspective of changing demand, the increasing scale of the elderly population has released a large demand for elderly products and services. With the upgrading of consumption willingness and ability, the demand structure is undergoing a shift from survival-oriented to development-oriented. Especially those born after the 1960s have entered their retirement years, and this group has stronger consumption willingness and ability. In terms of consumption trends, the boundaries between elderly people and young people are constantly merging with more overlap in consumption concepts and structures. They pay more attention to personalized and self-focused consumption and have become key groups in promoting diversified consumption development. From the perspective of industrial development, the silver economy prompts various industries to innovate and create more service products for the elderly that cover all aspects of their lives, injecting new momentum into services for them.
Liu Ming pointed out that in the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will implement plans of Party Central Committee and State Council to deeply explore and cultivate silver economy consumption potential. It will focus on improving services to promote silver economy quality enhancement and expansion by strengthening business entities through supporting various enterprises to actively participate in cultivating a group of leading silver economy enterprises that promote diverse development of silver economy industries; optimizing products by guiding business entities to match segmented markets, improving standards and norms for product services, enhancing product quality and suitability for aging; expanding scale by promoting integration between elderly care services with industries such as medical healthcare, cultural tourism, finance to make it more convenient for elders in areas such as medical treatment, transportation, entertainment by providing better service with more warmth tailored for elders.
