Elderly care and childcare services carry the hopes of hundreds of millions of families for proper support in old age and quality upbringing for children, while also connecting to labor supply, household consumption expectations, and industrial growth potential. These services represent not only a foundational project to secure people's livelihoods and improve demographic support systems, but also a critical focal point for implementing economic work plans in the second half of the year and steadily expanding effective domestic demand.
Elderly care resources are increasingly aligned with the actual needs of daily life. In recent years, China's aging-related initiatives have made significant progress in social security, elderly care services, health support, the silver economy, and the construction of an age-friendly society. Chen Gong, director of the Institute of Population Research and the Institute of Gerontology at Peking University, noted that the allocation of elderly care service resources is increasingly tailored to the real-life circumstances of senior citizens. The focus of the service system is gradually shifting from general facility provision to identifying and responding to differentiated needs. The demand for long-term care, meal assistance, housekeeping, rehabilitation nursing, and home-based services is particularly prominent among the oldest-old, those with disabilities, and seniors living alone. According to statistics, in 2025, the number of participants in the long-term care insurance program exceeded 300 million, with nearly 1.93 million people receiving benefits and more than 13,000 designated service institutions. A preliminary institutional framework covering disability assessment, cost payment, and care services has taken shape. "The accelerated development of long-term care insurance provides more stable institutional support for disability care and also helps alleviate the pressure of long-term family caregiving," Chen Gong said.
As seniors' spending power rises and their mindsets evolve, silver consumption is gradually emerging as a key growth driver for expanding domestic demand. Relevant institutions predict that by 2035, the overall market size of China's silver economy is expected to exceed 30 trillion yuan. Yang Yifan, professor at the School of Public Affairs and Law and deputy director of the International Institute of Ageing Studies at Southwest Jiaotong University, stated that issuing consumption subsidies for elderly care services to seniors with moderate or higher levels of disability essentially returns the power of choice to older adults, allowing them to select service providers and determine spending directions based on their actual needs. A "demand-side driven" model is better able to stimulate market vitality and also pushes the supply side to improve service quality.
Affordable childcare services are undergoing quality upgrades. The heavy pressure of intergenerational caregiving, the difficulty of finding vacation care for children of dual-income families, and the shortage of affordable childcare resources are common pain points in society today. To address these urgent concerns, Shizhu County in Chongqing has coordinated efforts across multiple departments including the Women's Federation, trade unions, and health authorities to build a diversified childcare system based on "integration of childcare and early education, public welfare as a safety net, unit-based supplementary care, and community empowerment." The local government has revitalized existing kindergarten resources by adding standardized nursery classes, with coverage extending across urban and rural areas. Combined with financial subsidies and tax incentives, the minimum monthly fee for affordable childcare is only 420 yuan. The quality upgrade of county-level childcare services serves as a vivid microcosm of the development of the national affordable childcare system.
In recent years, China has relied on central government demonstration projects for affordable childcare to vigorously advance the construction of comprehensive childcare service centers and affordable nursery slots. Local governments have explored innovative approaches tailored to their circumstances, gradually forming diverse supply models including kindergartens extending to provide nursery services, community-embedded childcare, unit-affiliated childcare, and family daycare points. Currently, there are 126,000 childcare service institutions nationwide, with a total capacity exceeding 6.6 million slots, continuously expanding the coverage of "trustworthy childcare" at residents' doorsteps. At the same time, multiple support policies are being implemented with tangible results. Ultra-long-term special treasury bonds are prioritizing support for childcare infrastructure construction, childcare institutions are eligible for residential pricing for water, electricity, gas, and heating, and many regions are issuing childcare subsidies of 3,600 yuan per child per year until the age of three, jointly reducing both institutional operating costs and family child-rearing burdens.
This year, the National Health Commission, together with multiple departments, is continuously optimizing the layout of childcare resources, increasing central budget investment support, deepening the construction of affordable childcare pilot programs, and promoting the establishment of normalized collaboration mechanisms between maternal and child health institutions and childcare facilities to enhance the accessibility and professionalism of childcare services. Yang Fan, deputy dean of the School of Population and Health at Renmin University of China, said that the localized layout of diversified childcare services can not only effectively solve the caregiving challenges faced by dual-income families and unleash women's employment potential, but also activate new momentum for household consumption.
The coordination of supply and demand is building a solid service foundation. At present, China's "elderly and child" livelihood programs are gradually moving beyond the singular welfare development mindset. Institutional development is transitioning from pilot exploration to a finalized system, the policy focus is shifting from supply-driven to supply-demand coordination, and service delivery is transforming into a coordinated approach that advances both public service provision and industrial cultivation. However, structural contradictions between the supply and demand of elderly care and childcare services still need to be resolved. The recent meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee proposed prioritizing the service guarantees for the elderly and children. In the second half of the year, relevant departments need to improve the supply of "elderly and child" services, further strengthen the social safety net, reduce family caregiving burdens, stabilize resident expectations, drive the development of related industries such as age-friendly products, childcare facilities, and maternal and infant services, and cultivate new consumption growth points.
To better meet the diverse and multi-level elderly care service needs of senior citizens, the Ministry of Civil Affairs recently formulated the "Guidelines for the Construction and Management of a Three-Tier Elderly Care Service Network in Urban and Rural Areas." Sun Wencan, deputy director of the Elderly Care Services Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, stated that the three-tier urban and rural elderly care service network is not a simple stacking of levels, but rather an organic whole characterized by upward and downward linkage, horizontal coordination, systematic continuity, and comprehensive coverage. The three levels—county-level comprehensive elderly care service management platforms, township (street) regional elderly care service centers, and village (community) elderly care service facility stations—each perform their respective functions and work in synergy to build a full-chain elderly care service supply pattern covering urban and rural areas and spanning home-based, community, and institutional care.
Affordable childcare services are also adhering to the principle of simultaneously expanding coverage and improving quality. Yang Fan indicated that on the basis of popularizing affordable childcare, it is necessary to strictly maintain safety bottom lines, address supply-demand shortcomings, optimize the service system, and cultivate a well-regulated childcare service market. Local governments can leverage the reform of integrating childcare and early education to revitalize existing resources, expand affordable nursery slots, and optimize urban and rural service layouts. At the same time, in response to the needs of flexible employment and shift workers, flexible services such as hourly care and holiday care can be introduced to precisely match diverse parenting needs. Furthermore, the integration of medical and childcare services can be deepened by promoting the downward flow of medical resources to childcare institutions.