Senior residents exercise with the help of a staff member at a social welfare center in Hanshou County of Changde City, central China's Hunan Province, June 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

BEIJING, Aug. 12, 2024 -- An official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs pledged greater financial and fiscal support, such as tax-related preferential policies to better promote the development of China's elderly care services.

The financing needs of relevant institutions will also be better met, said Li Yongxin, head of the elderly care service department of the ministry, at a press conference Friday.

Li said efforts will be made to accelerate the building of an efficient, standardized, fair, and open market in the sector, further encouraging enterprises and other social forces to participate in and provide elderly care services.

These measures will be part of the ministry's efforts to implement a new guideline on advancing high-quality development of service consumption.

Noting that by the end of 2023, the number of people aged 60 and above in China has reached 297 million, accounting for over 21 percent of the total population, Li said optimizing and expanding the supply of elderly care services and tapping into the consumption potential are essential to better meet the diverse and personalized needs of the group, as well as to effectively improve their life quality.

Li stressed that better elderly care services will be provided at the senior citizens' homes, communities and specialized institutions.

Intelligent technologies will be better utilized to provide more accurate services for the elderly, Li said, adding that development in this sector should be better integrated with other industries such as property management, household services, healthcare, culture, tourism, sports, and education.