“The 14th Five-Year Plan” marked the first explicit mention of “developing the silver economy.” In December 2023, “developing the silver economy” appeared in the Central Economic Work Conference for the first time. On April 25th of this year, the Political Bureau meeting of the CPC Central Committee pointed out the need to vigorously develop service consumption, enhance the role of consumption in driving economic growth, and establish service consumption and elderly care re-lending. On May 9th, the People’s Bank of China announced the establishment of a 500 billion yuan “service consumption and elderly care re-lending” facility to implement the spirit of the Political Bureau meeting. Why has the silver economy become so important? And how should China develop the silver economy to make it a new engine for economic growth? Liberation Daily’s Shanghai Observer interviewed Xizhe PENG, Academic Vice Dean of the Fudan Development Institute, to gain a deeper understanding of the silver economy. Professor Peng believes that the scale of the future silver economy depends on three fundamental conditions: the base number of the aging population, the ability to translate that into effective demand, and the extent of government public investment. To solve the aging challenge, it is necessary to synergize efforts on both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, the government needs to improve the legal framework, such as strengthening the guardianship system and estate planning system, and guide companies to develop age-appropriate products through tax incentives, financial support, and other policies. Moreover, the focus of policy should be on families, considering the issues of “the elderly and the young” as a whole. On the demand side, it is necessary to enhance the payment ability of the elderly, promote financial innovation (such as reverse mortgages) to unleash consumption potential, strengthen intergenerational family responsibility, and avoid excessive reliance on government support, which could weaken kinship ties. At the same time, it is important to explore industrial tracks with high demand among the elderly, such as medical care and health, tourism, and education.

Translated by Jingyi WEI

Full text in Chinese available at:

https://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/24/11/c18965a730129/page.htm