China will let its financial industry support elder care services as the population rapidly ages, an official document said Monday.
By 2025, a financial system that matches the aging stage of the population and meets the senior care demand should be established. That system should have wide, varied coverage and be efficient and safe, according to a guideline issued by the central bank and four other government agencies.
To realize that goal, China will facilitate the flow of financial resources towards elderly care services as long as it is commercially viable, not only tackling demand for care but upgrading the financial industry.
Decades of family planning policies drastically reduced China's birth rate and improvements in healthcare resulted in a greater life expectancy.
China had more than 220 million people aged over 60 in 2015, accounting for 16.1 percent of the country's total population, official data showed. That number is expected to reach nearly 500 million by 2050, according to UN predictions.
