S: Hi everyone. Welcome to CBN Friday Special. I’m Stephanie LI.
R: And I’m ZHANG Ran. For today’s program, we will talk about the “silver economy" in China, which is dedicated to the elderly in our societies. As its name suggests, the silver economy is not a “market” but across “economy”. The population ageing process is real and impacts every market and industry, such as: home accommodation, transport, food industry, insurance, robotics, health and e-health, communications, Internet, and so on. All these markets are already adapting to ageing process.
In fact, I have just celebrated my grandfather’s 90th birthday this week. The caring worker who works for my grandparents made us dinner. She not only cooks and does the housework, but also takes care of my grandparents. And that reminds me of how important elderly care is.
S: Yes, particularly in China, people aged 60 and older totalled 264 million, or 18.7 percent of the population, according to the latest census released last year. Official data suggested that more than 100 million people aged 60 and above are living alone or with their spouses only. Many of them are empty-nesters in rural areas, where the social security system is poorer, as working-age individuals move away to work in urban areas. And according to the National Health Commission (NHC), China’s elderly care is still “unbalanced and insufficient”, urging the country to improve health services for elderly in both rural and urban areas.
R: The NHC's suggestion follows the State Council’s plan for the development of the country's elderly care services system during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) published last month. The plan laid out nine goals that the country aims to achieve through 2025, such as the number of elderly care beds and the ratio of nursing care beds in elderly care institutions, to mobilise society as a whole to actively respond to population ageing. Detailed tasks include strengthening the safety net for elderly services, expanding inclusive services coverage, developing the silver economy, and safeguarding the legitimate interests of the ageing population.
S: What worths mentioning is that the State Council’s plan has proposed to develop the financing services for senior citizens. The country will encourage and develop individual pension plans, which is regarded as “the third pillar” of pension, while “the first pillar” being the country’s basic endowment insurance and “the second pillar” being enterprise annuity, which is a supplementary pension system.
R: Yes, elderly care is a market with great potential. Data shows that China’s silver economy market totalled 5.4 trillion yuan in 2020, a 25.6 percent increase from 4.3 trillion yuan in 2019. According to a white paper published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the number is expected to reach 13 trillion yuan by 2030. Imagine how big the market would be!
S: And the tech industry can also contribute to elderly care services, as the country proposed developing “internet plus” nursing services to better leverage the internet and digital facilities. Data shows that one in five people aged 60 and above in China use mobile devices and phone apps. The smart economy, represented by products and services such as robotic assistants, unmanned driving and home monitoring, will also become an important part of the silver economy.
R: Right, on a different note. Chinese stocks inched up on Friday as COVID-19 testing stocks jumped. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.41 percent, while the Shenzhen Component was up 0.62 percent. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.61 percent, with the TECH index tumbling 4.28 percent.
中国人口老龄化趋势正在加重，完善养老体系，发展银发经济，成为热议话题。
2021年第七次全国人口普查数据显示，中国60岁及以上人口已达2.64亿，占全部总人口的18.70%。第四次中国城乡老年人生活状况抽样调查显示，空巢老人人数突破1亿。
国家卫健委老龄健康司司长王海东曾表示，我国1999年进入人口老龄化社会，具有数量多、速度快、差异大、任务重等特点。当前面临的主要问题，一是居家社区服务发展不充分，与机构服务发展不平衡。居家社区养老服务的基础地位尚未得到很好体现。二是农村和中西部老龄事业发展相对滞后，城乡区域老龄事业发展不平衡。三是老龄产业发展不充分，事业和产业发展不平衡。目前，我国老龄产业相关政策碎片化，产业发展缺乏统一的价格、税收、贸易、人才、投融资、土地等政策扶持和规划引领。
为贯彻落实积极应对人口老龄化国家战略，国务院今年2月印发了《“十四五”国家老龄事业发展和养老服务体系规划》（以下简称《规划》），围绕推动老龄事业和产业协同发展、推动养老服务体系高质量发展，明确了“十四五”时期的总体要求、主要目标和工作任务。
《规划》部署了9方面具体工作任务，包括织牢社会保障和兜底性养老服务网，扩大普惠型养老服务覆盖面，强化居家社区养老服务能力，完善老年健康支撑体系，大力发展银发经济，践行积极老龄观，营造老年友好型社会环境，增强发展要素支撑体系，维护老年人合法权益。
近年来，中国的银发经济发展迅速，在市场需求与政策鼓励的双重影响下，银发经济正成为下一片蓝海，养老产业迎来发展的黄金期。艾媒咨询发布数据显示，2016—2020年间，中国银发经济市场规模持续上升。2020年已达5.4万亿元，年增长率为25.6%。据中国社科院发布的《中国养老产业发展白皮书》预测，2030年我国养老产业规模将达到13万亿元。
在潜力巨大的银发经济市场中，科技、互联网企业也将扮演重要角色。2020年，多部门联合印发《关于促进“互联网+社会服务”发展的意见》，提出以互联网为技术核心满足老年人需求。而随着人工智能、物联网、云计算、大数据等新一代信息技术的快速发展，“互联网+养老”成为持续推动智慧健康养老产业发展的关键。养老机器人、无人驾驶、预警监测等产品，都将助力养老服务。
最后来看一下今天股市收盘情况。周五A股收涨，新冠检测概念股大涨，沪指涨0.41%，深成指涨0.62%。恒生指数收跌1.61%，恒生科指跌4.28%。
