China has been an aging society since 1999. At present there are 143 million senior citizens above 60 years old in China, making up 11% of the population. By 2050, the figure will increase to 400 million, about 30% of the population.

As the number of senior citizens keeps increasing, more and more Chinese families will belong to the 4-2-1 type, with four senior citizens being the parents of the husband and the wife, the couple themselves, and their only child.

It is reported that in China 35% of the families have to support 4 senior citizens and 49% of the families have to take care of 2-3 senior citizens. At the same time, the one-child policy makes China have fewer younger people. As a result, the Chinese pension system can’t get enough support from young people.

The government has launched pension, medical care and other programs for the elderly. However, as a developing country with a population of more than 1.3 billion, China still has a lot of work to do.