China will issue 800 billion yuan (about 110.53 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long-term special-purpose government bonds this year to provide stronger support to projects for implementing major national strategies and building security capacity in key areas.
The construction of the largest cross-sea bridge project in northeast China, the Changhai Bridge, officially commenced in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, in late February, with a total investment of about 7.9 billion yuan (about 1.09 billion U.S. dollars). The bridge is set to be completed and open to traffic by 2029. In east China's Jiangsu Province, 500 major projects will be implemented this year, with an annual planned investment exceeding 650 billion yuan (about 89.81 billion U.S. dollars). Among them, 225 projects in strategic emerging industries and future industries see a 21-percent increase, making up over 60 percent of the manufacturing sector.
This year, the government has intensified support for such projects which span various fronts, including accelerating high-level technological self-reliance, promoting high-quality population development, and boosting fundamental research and future industry growth.
China boosts investment in key national projects with staggering special bonds
A newly built elderly care center in China's eastern town of Wuzhen is using smart digital technology to improve the quality of care for its senior residents, offering them enhanced safety and greater convenience.
Established in November last year, the Wuzhen Intelligent Elderly Care Center has enhanced its services by applying a digital twin system, with residents wearing positioning devices that track their real-time movements within the center, ensuring timely assistance if needed.
"When the senior citizens are exercising within the center, we can use the system to check where they are at any moment," said Zhong Yueying, head of the center. Additionally, the center uses a smart health monitoring system to track the seniors' sleep patterns, which helps the staff offer more personalized care based on the monitored information.
"The BMI display screen shows her sleep condition last night. From the overall analysis, we can tell that she had over nine hours of light sleep and just over two hours of deep sleep. This data suggests that her sleep quality may be just average," said Zhong.
As digital technology and AI robotics become more widely used in elderly care, experts believe they can assist staff with various supportive tasks, though there are limitations.
"The general consensus is that in the future of elderly care, there are some jobs that can't be done by AI or robots, such as those that need direct contact with the body of an elderly person, but many other supportive jobs can be done by AI," said Luo Shougui, a professor at the Antai College of Economics and Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Luo believes that almost 60 percent of jobs related to elderly care will be replaced in the future. He also encourages research institutes to fully work with elderly care services to understand the needs of senior citizens and develop AI products that they truly need.
Wuzhen elderly home adopts cutting-edge tech to enhance care services
