The General Office of the State Council recently issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Enhancing the Well-being of the Elderly," which is the first **special document issued by the state to support the development of the silver economy, and also the No. 1 document released by the General Office of the State Council in 2024. At a regular policy briefing of the State Council held on the 22nd, relevant departments interpreted the document.

On January 22, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing of the State Council in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency

Why develop the silver economy? Zhang Shixin, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that developing the silver economy is a practical need for realizing the people's aspiration for a better life, a powerful measure to promote high-quality development, and an important support for Chinese-style modernization. China has nearly 300 million elderly people, and developing the silver economy is conducive to adapting to the trend of the elderly's demand structure shifting from a survival-oriented to a development-oriented one. The silver economy covers a wide range of areas, has a long industrial chain, and diverse business forms, harboring new opportunities that will surely give rise to new fields and new tracks, and become new support for exploring a path of addressing population aging with Chinese characteristics in the process of Chinese-style modernization.

Regarding the connotation of the silver economy, Liu Ming, Director of the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that it includes two aspects: "the aging economy in the elderly stage" and "the preparation-for-aging economy in the pre-elderly stage." From the perspective of national planning guidance, developing the silver economy fully echoes and implements the national strategy of actively responding to population aging. Incorporating industries related to "preparing for old age" into the scope of the silver economy is an overall consideration under the framework of the national strategy of actively responding to population aging. From the perspective of an individual's life cycle, the elderly stage and the pre-elderly stage are not separated and should be planned as an organic whole. From the perspective of social intergenerational transmission, the development of the silver economy cannot be separated from the joint participation of people of all ages.

The Opinions make arrangements for smart health and elderly care, digital age-friendliness, and other areas. He Yaqiong, Director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that through continuous innovation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has been improving digital empowerment means, cultivating and strengthening the smart health and elderly care industry, solving the application difficulties of digital products and services for the elderly, and stepping up publicity on digital assistance and benefits for the elderly. Next, it will guide manufacturers, telecommunications enterprises, internet service providers, and others to integrate more care for the elderly into products and services, so that the elderly can better enjoy the convenience that digital technology brings to life.

The Opinions propose measures related to promoting worry-free and convenient consumption by the silver-haired group. Zhu Guangyao, a responsible person of the Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the consumption needs of the silver-haired group will be better met: optimizing the development environment for silver-haired consumption, actively developing health consumption, and optimizing the supply of goods and services; strengthening international cooperation to promote the development of the silver economy, giving full play to the role of platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the China International Consumer Products Expo to display and promote cutting-edge technologies, products, and services of the silver economy, and strengthening cross-regional and international cooperation in the silver economy; advancing the quality improvement and expansion of the domestic service industry, strengthening development support, encouraging and guiding domestic workers to actively participate in care services for the elderly at home, expanding the supply of domestic services, and improving the quality of domestic services.

The Opinions make arrangements for increasing the supply of services such as meal assistance and care. Li Yongxin, a responsible person of the Elderly Care Service Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, stated that for these new task requirements, work will be focused on three aspects: increasing the supply of elderly care services, cultivating new forms of elderly care services, and strengthening the guarantee of factors for elderly care services. For example, innovating the organizational forms, service models, and operating mechanisms of meal assistance for the elderly, organizing and carrying out centralized care services supported by central government funds for economically disadvantaged and disabled elderly people, strengthening the construction of the three-level elderly care service network at the county, township, and village levels, formulating industry standards for smart nursing homes, smart elderly assistance canteens, and home-based elderly care beds, and building a high-quality talent team focusing on elderly care nurses, nursing home directors, and elderly social workers.

Developing the silver economy is both a solid support for improving people's well-being and an important measure for building a modern economic system. Liu Ming stated that to promote the development of the silver economy, the principle of overall coordination must be adhered to, and a Chinese model of actively responding to population aging should be explored. In terms of development direction, promote the coordinated unity and mutual reinforcement of public undertakings and industries, achieving a "1+1>2" effect; in terms of policy guidance, focus on the virtuous cycle between public undertakings and industries and promote their mutual complementarity; in terms of supervision and management, create a market environment of equal participation and fair competition, and promote standardized and healthy development.