China to build three-tier eldercare network by 2029

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has unveiled a plan to build a national eldercare network over the next three years by integrating fragmented care resources into a three-tier system that extends from urban centers to remote rural communities.

The ministry aims to basically complete the network by 2029 and further strengthen it by 2035, according to a guideline released on Wednesday.

At a news conference following the guideline's release, officials elaborated on the three-tier structure, which consists of county-level elderly care service management platforms, township- or subdistrict-level service centers, and village- or community-level service facilities.

The system is designed to provide seamless care across home-, community- and institution-based settings.

"The three-tier network is not a simple hierarchical structure, but an organic whole," said Sun Wencan, deputy director of the ministry's department of elderly care services.

The county-level platform serves as the system's "brain" and "nerve center", he said.

It coordinates with provincial- and municipal-level high-quality elderly care providers to perform functions including service demonstration, industry guidance, emergency response, resource coordination and data aggregation.

Township-level service centers function as the system's "backbone" and "bridge", providing services including professional care, visitation care, family support and other extended services.

Built by renovating existing high-quality elderly care institutions and comprehensive senior service centers, one regional center can serve multiple townships or subdistricts, Sun said.

At the grassroots level, village- and community-based facilities act as the network's "terminals", providing day care, home-based services, short-term respite care, meal assistance and visitation services.

They are designed to identify the needs of older residents and deliver services close to home, he added.

Beyond outlining the network's structure, Sun said it is intended to address both the rigid care needs of seniors with disabilities or cognitive impairment and the diverse needs of healthy, active older adults through services such as meal assistance, social engagement and recreational programs.

For frail and disabled seniors, county-level platforms will coordinate professional care for those with severe disabilities, while township-level centers will provide centralized care for people with milder conditions, supplemented by home-based services and respite care for family caregivers.

The plan builds on China's rapidly expanding elderly care system. By the end of 2025, the country had 396,000 elderly care institutions and facilities, with nursing beds accounting for 67.5 percent of all beds in elderly care institutions, Sun said.

Public county-level elderly care institutions have achieved full coverage nationwide. About 30 percent now function as comprehensive county-level elderly care service management platforms, while more than 60 percent of townships and subdistricts have established regional elderly care service centers.

Officials from Beijing's Dongcheng district and Nanping in Fujian province shared local practices at the news conference, highlighting efforts ranging from urban resource coordination to improvements in rural elderly care services.

"We will promote these experiences and guide local governments to accelerate the improvement of the three-tier system to better meet the diverse and multilevel needs of senior residents," Sun said.