On October 15, the China Research Center on Aging and the Hualing Intelligent Elderly Care Industry Development Center co-hosted the “Smart and Shared Elderly Care Seminar” in Beijing. Over 50 experts, scholars, and industry representatives from the aging sector gathered to explore pathways and models of smart shared elderly care that align with China’s unique circumstances.
Gao Chengyun, the Party Secretary and Director of the China Research Center on Aging, emphasized that digitalization and aging are profoundly transforming contemporary China. The simultaneous arrival of the digital and aging eras presents new opportunities, and the integration of digital and aging civilizations will create novel living scenarios for the elderly. He outlined three key principles: first, comprehensive sharing, which ensures that seniors enjoy both material and spiritual well-being; second, co-building and sharing, necessitating policy frameworks that allow seniors to be well-cared-for, engaged, and active participants in society; and third, smart sharing, enabling elderly individuals to leverage advances in technology, particularly in the context of a “Digital China,” enhancing accessibility to digital benefits and improving their quality of life.
During his keynote address, Fan Hui, Chairman of the Hualing Intelligent Elderly Care Industry Development Center, noted that this event marks the first seminar in China focused on smart shared elderly care, highlighting a significant advancement in innovation within elder care services and the silver economy. He stated that the Hualing Center would leverage its role as a national think tank and industry service platform to conduct research and practical explorations that facilitate the implementation of smart shared elderly care initiatives and promote the rapid growth of the silver economy in China.
Zhu Yong, Honorary Chairman of the Hualing Center, expressed that in the current context of accelerating silver economy development and new productive forces, various regions are witnessing the emergence of initiatives such as points-based shared elderly care. He underscored the importance of adopting a co-building, sharing, and win-win development philosophy. This smart shared elderly care model is characterized by six key features: party leadership, government coordination, market-driven approaches, technological empowerment, points-based incentives, and collaborative governance. By advancing platform digitalization, service intelligence, and operational sharing, the goal is to achieve a mutually beneficial development framework.
Professor Wang Zhiliang, Chairman of the Beijing IoT Society and a faculty member at Beijing University of Science and Technology, highlighted that the shared economy requires two essential elements: rich imagination and continuous technological progression. He argued that shared elderly care services represent an unstoppable trend necessitating ongoing innovation and solid technological foundations. Meanwhile, Yang Fengchun, Honorary President of the Institute of E-Government at Peking University, asserted that personal data holds foundational significance in smart elderly care. He advocated for recognizing the value of data as a resource, suggesting the establishment of personal data resource accounts managed by individuals to generate new wealth sources for the elderly population.
Wu Xiaolan, Director of the Aging Health Policy Research Office at the China Research Center on Aging, discussed the essence of elderly care services as a model of co-construction, co-governance, and sharing within social governance. She stated that a harmonious unification of welfare systems, market mechanisms, and community frameworks is essential for achieving collaborative and inclusive development across diverse stakeholders.
The seminar also featured thematic presentations on the design and application of smart shared elderly care IoT platforms by Zhao Ruoyu, Chairman of Beijing Tianchuang IoT Technology Group, and innovative operational practices within elderly care institutions shared by Niu Xiaorong, Chairman of Yuelian Health.
Finally, a launch ceremony for the project titled “Theories and Practices of Smart Shared Elderly Care” was held. It was announced that the China Research Center on Aging and the Hualing Intelligent Elderly Care Industry Development Center would join forces across academic and industrial sectors to form a cross-disciplinary expert team. This team will engage in in-depth research on smart shared elderly care and produce theoretical research outcomes, including a report on China’s approach to this model.
