Age-friendly products catch limelight at ongoing CIIE

Silver economy has caught limelight at the ongoing 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) where myriad innovative age-friendly products made their debut, an upbeat trend to cater to the growing aging population.

Experts have predicted that the number of people aged 60 and above in China will surpass 400 million around 2035 and is expected to reach 500 million by 2050.

Meanwhile, China's silver economy now stands at around 7 trillion yuan (about 960 billion U.S. dollars), and is expected to reach around 30 trillion yuan (about 4.13 trillion U.S. dollars) by 2035.

Participants at the expo are prioritizing open cooperation and innovative advancement within the silver economy sector, discussing new ideas and strategies that actively respond to the challenge of an aging population and help promote the industry's high-quality development.

During a forum focused on silver economy, head of the social affairs department of the National Development and Reform Commission said that China has entered a moderate aging society, with its aging rate being relatively high on a global scale. Developing silver economy has become a key strategy for addressing the challenges posed by an aging population in China, alongside the innovation of new technologies for meeting their needs.

"China is a very vibrant, innovative economy, and a lot of people are trying new things. I think there is a lot of room for cooperation between Japanese companies and Chinese companies," said Osamu Onodera, Head of the Beijing Office for JETRO, a government related organization responsible for promotion of trade and investment.

There are about 220 million people aged 65 and older in China, accounting for 15.4 percent of the population. At the expo, life insurance industry practitioners said that they will enhance wealth management and health protection services for the elderly to align with the evolving silver economy.

"We will increase the supply of insurance service systems for silver economy, as well as make more investments in this area," said Dai Chuanjiang, Deputy General Manager of China Pacific Life Insurance Company.

The CIIE has been facilitating connections between supply and demand in the health and elderly care industry. The estimated transaction volume for elderly care, rehabilitation and assistive products has reached 348 million U.S. dollars in the previous six sessions.

The 7th CIIE, which runs from Tuesday to Sunday, has attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions this year. The event also marks a significant milestone with the participation of 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and leading industry players from around the world.

Age-friendly products catch limelight at ongoing CIIE

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, recorded a narrower year-on-year decline in March, while the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, experienced a notable rebound, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Thursday.

Statistics issued by the NBS showed that in March, CPI fell by 0.4 percent month-on-month and decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the same period last year, with a significant narrowing of the decline.

This rebound in the core CPI reflects the emerging impact of policies aimed at stimulating consumer demand. Improved dynamics between supply and demand are driving positive price trends, signaling potential stabilization in the market. With warmer weather in March, fresh food products entered the market in abundance, ensuring a plentiful supply. Month-on-month, the prices of fresh vegetables, pork, eggs, and fruits all experienced declines.

As a result of fewer travelers during the tourism off-season, travel-related expenses have declined. Additionally, the continued drop in global oil prices has led to a noticeable month-on-month reduction in domestic gasoline costs.

Meanwhile, trade-in policies for consumer goods are starting to show results, contributing to a broader rise in the prices of industrial consumer goods. Items such as household appliances, gold jewelry, and clothing experienced monthly price increases that surpassed the decade-long average for the same period.

From a year-on-year perspective, the year-on-year decline in the CPI significantly narrowed. In particular, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, saw a notable rebound with a 0.5 percent increase year-on-year.

"With the recovery of real estate market in some popular cities, prices for housing have also stabilized to some extent. Driven by policies aimed at boosting consumption, sales of key products such as smartphones, automobiles, and household appliances have been robust, and prices have recovered," said He Xiaoying, deputy head, analysis and prediction division, Price Monitoring Center, National Development and Reform Commission.

China’s core CPI picks up in March