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

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would slash key interest rates by 25 basis points in a bid to wind down the restrictive monetary policy.

Effective from March 12, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.50 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.90 percent respectively, said the central bank in a statement.

The disinflation process is well on track, with headline inflation averaging 2.3 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026 and 2.0 percent in 2027, the ECB said.

The decision to keep on cutting rates came at a time when the economy in the eurozone is facing increasing uncertainties.

In its latest edition of the staff projections on Thursday, the ECB lowered its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone to 0.9 percent for 2025, 1.2 percent for 2026 and 1.3 percent for 2027.

This marks a downward revision from the ECB's forecast in December last year, which had projected 1.1 percent growth in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, while the 2027 outlook remains unchanged.

The ECB attributed the weaker growth outlook for 2025 and 2026 to declining exports and sluggish investment, citing high trade policy uncertainty and broader economic instability as key factors.

ECB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points