Population aging is an inevitable trend of economic and social development, and it is an important issue facing human society in the 21st century. Since France became the first country to enter an aging society in 1865, more and more countries in Europe, East Asia and other regions have entered the ranks of aging. In recent years, with the deepening of the aging and the extension of the life expectancy of the elderly, the economic needs of the elderly group have become more prominent, and the silver economy has become a hot spot of concern from all walks of life.
Since the establishment of the "Silver Seat" by the Japanese National Railway in the 70s of the 20th century, focusing on the development of the silver economy in the aging society, Japan, South Korea, Germany and other countries have actively developed elderly products, strengthened the supply of health and elderly care services and promoted the employment of the elderly, which has provided a useful reference for the high-quality development of China's silver economy.
The first is to actively develop a wide range of products for the elderly. In 1993, Japan formulated the Law on the Promotion of the Research and Development and Popularization of Welfare Appliances, and clearly put forward the special standards or technical specifications for various types of elderly products in the Industrial Standardization Law to promote the research and development, design and production and manufacturing of elderly products. Since the beginning of the new century, Japan has introduced a series of scientific and technological innovation and development plans related to the elderly, emphasizing the development of intelligent nursing robots and intelligent assistive devices based on intelligent equipment such as robots and modern information and communication technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud computing.
The second is to vigorously develop health, pension, cultural tourism and other silver services. Developed countries such as Europe and the United States continue to introduce market and social forces into elderly care services, and have built a number of community home medical support centers and community elderly activity centers to provide personalized health care plans, home care and other services. Based on their own resource endowments, some East Asian countries have explored services such as senior tourism, education and training, and formed a new form of health tourism.
The third is to continue to promote the development of human resources for the elderly. South Korea, Japan and other countries are actively promoting enterprises to hire the elderly and help them re-enter the workforce. In order to create a convenient environment conducive to the employment of the elderly, the "Silver Talent Center" has also been actively established, which has effectively promoted the development and utilization of human resources for the elderly. At the end of 2022, the number of elderly people in Japan reached 9.12 million, accounting for 252 per cent, or 1 in 4 older persons, is working.
The silver economy is a "blue ocean". At present, China's silver economy is in its infancy, the supply of goods and services for the elderly is not sufficient, and the human resources for the elderly also need to be further developed. In order to promote the high-quality development of the silver economy, the following suggestions are put forward.
First, accelerate the formulation of high-quality development plans and supporting policies for the silver economy. Accurately grasp the law of the development of the silver economy, and clearly define silver products, silver services and silver employment. Incorporate the silver economy into the overall strategic plan for China's economic and social development, formulate the development framework, supporting policies, supervision and evaluation mechanisms of the silver economy, and improve the policy system of land development, capital subsidies, credit financing, tax exemption and exemption, and talent training.
Second, actively develop silver hair products and effectively promote the development of the health and pension industry. Focus on the health and elderly care needs of the elderly, carry out joint research on key common technologies and key products, strengthen the scientific and technological research and development and application of intelligent elderly care products such as service robots, nursing robots, and intelligent assistive devices, and form a number of world-renowned silver products. Based on the advantages of China's manufacturing system, we will seize the opportunities of the digital economy and the development of the silver economy, accelerate the integration and application of artificial intelligence, 5G technology, new materials and silver products, and form a number of silver industry clusters. Establish a technical standard system and an industry certification standard system for silver hair products, improve and improve the catalog of silver hair products, and guide and standardize all kinds of business entities with a standard system.
Third, we should actively develop services for the elderly to effectively meet the diverse needs of the elderly. Actively explore the supply model of silver hair services that meet the needs of the elderly in China, continue to promote the high-quality development of home, community and institutional elderly care services, and focus on the development of community embedded silver service system. By cultivating, supporting and introducing professional, branded, and chained care and elderly care service institutions, we will promote the extension of professional services of elderly care institutions to the community and the elderly at home. Use cloud computing, big data and other technologies to build a public information platform, develop an AI hospital diagnosis and treatment system, and provide personalized health care services with long-term tracking and early warning. Encourage all localities to actively use resource endowments to promote the development and growth of new forms and models of silver services.
Fourth, we should actively promote the employment of silver hair and effectively develop the human resources of the elderly. The size of China's 60-69-year-old elderly population is expected to increase from 1500 million people, up to 2. by 2032200 million people. More than ninety percent of the young elderly are in good health, and they should advocate a positive employment outlook, accelerate the improvement of laws and regulations related to the employment of the elderly, encourage the elderly to actively participate in social and economic activities, and inject vitality into the development of the silver economy.
The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Chinese Population and Development Research Center).