Embracing an aging society

Making plans without factoring in a growing elderly population will worsen the country's problems

China is facing an aging population problem. While the country's economy is in transition, the problem is exacerbating the challenges of promoting industrial upgrading, information technology application, urbanization and agricultural modernization.

Since the launch of reform and opening-up, the country has seen the fastest urbanization in history. The urban population has risen from 10.6 percent of the population at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to 60.6 percent in 2019.However, urban planners have not taken into consideration the growing elderly population when creating infrastructure, thus exposing them to risks.

In 2016, the China National Committee on Aging, under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, conducted a fourth survey to assess the living conditions of citizens aged 60 and above. According to the survey, the top three problems elderly citizens face in urban houses are the absence of alarm facilities (37.6 percent), lack of handrails (20.7 percent) and dimly-lit rooms (18 percent). Other problems include inconvenient toilets, noise and uneven surfaces.

While the living conditions for the elderly are not particularly good in the cities, in rural areas, where there is a faster aging rate, infrastructure, social security and services lag behind those in the cities.

With the infrastructure in China largely unsuitable for its aging society and its development not keeping up with the rate at which the elderly population is growing, it is critical to launch large-scale age-friendly infrastructure construction and renovation projects at an early date. Development of such infrastructure can improve convenience for elderly citizens and their involvement in economic and social activities. That, in turn, would stimulate domestic demand, consumption and economic growth, and promote social and economic development with sustainability.

The Central Economic Working Conference first raised the concept of new infrastructure in 2018. Unlike traditional infrastructure such as railways, roads, and water conservancy, the new concept refers to critical facilities based on information technologies, such as 5G, artificial intelligence, the industrial internet and the internet of things.

The same year, China's population structure underwent significant changes. The number and proportion of people aged over 60 exceeded those of children while the birthrate registered a historical low. The working-age population fell below 900 million and the number of employed people also declined for the first time.

However, the rapid advancement of new technologies is posing challenges for the elderly. For instance, some new products that are not targeted at the elderly population cannot meet their needs. This amplifies the differences in generational lifestyles and the inter-generation digital divide.

Such digital and urban-rural divides should be taken into consideration when planning the construction of new infrastructure in accordance with age-friendly standards.

Led by local governments, cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu in Sichuan province have provided programs for the elderly to improve the facilities in their homes with the participation of public welfare, social organizations and market capital.

In 2011, Shanghai piloted public welfare projects including renovations to improve the functioning of toilets, kitchens, living rooms and other spaces to better meet the needs of elderly residents.

In 2018, Chengdu launched renovation projects to help the aged, with some 10,000 households benefiting in the first batch. The activities included installing handrails and providing rehabilitation assistance to those elderly residents with special needs.

A year later, funded by the local government, Haidian district in Beijing carried out the first pilot project to renovate old communities, focusing on elderly people's needs. Public facilities apart, the government upgraded the home facilities for 99 families with a member over 80 and severely disabled. It is worth mentioning that the upgrading included a smart device to provide real-time monitoring of the elderly family members to the younger family members to inform the latter immediately in case of any emergency.

Development of age-friendly infrastructure is necessary for an aging society.

First, it is essential to factor them in the national plans for economic, social, and urban and rural development.

Second, due to the large scale of investment, long-time construction and slow cost recovery, governments at all levels should take the lead in relieving the burden of participating enterprises and social organizations.

Third, innovative patterns are encouraged in investment, financing and management for new cooperative models including government, society, enterprises, families and individuals according to the local situation.

The author is the deputy director of Ageing Society Studies Center at the Pangoal Institution. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.