Report offers suggestions on aging industry improvements

China faces both opportunities and challenges in developing an industry for the growing aging population to improve their income, services and supplies.

According to a report by the China Research Center on Aging released on Tuesday in Beijing, the nation has 264 million people older than 60 as of 2020, taking up 18.7 percent of the total population. The aging population will increase to 412 million by 2035 - roughly one third of the total population.

The aging problem, though a tough challenge to the nation, will stimulate consumption of related products and services. The report said aging people's consumption is estimated to reach over 11.9 trillion yuan ($1.63 trillion) to 15.5 trillion yuan by 2030, roughly 8.3 to 10.8 percent of the nation's GDP.

Wang Lili, the center's director of aging industry research, said the market still has problems and products and services related to aging lag behind the growth of the elderly population, such as imbalanced products supplies and nonstandard market operation.

The report also provides suggestions on the future development of the aging industry, including improving the income of middle-aged and aging people, encouraging shopping malls and supermarkets to set up individual counters for aging products in order to improve aging people's shopping experience.

According to the report, it's necessary to establish standards on aging products and regulations on market supervision to help secure the rights of the elderly.

Dang Junwu, the center's vice-director, added developing an aging industry is a need to secure people's livelihood, which is also beneficial to promoting employment and stimulating consumption.

"But it's necessary for authorities to make long-term plans and supportive policies encouraging the industry's development, and to take positive measures to deal with the aging problem," he said.