The Opening Ceremony of the 11th China International Senior Services Expo was Successfully Held in Beijing

On May 21, 2025, the opening ceremony of the 11th China International Senior Services Expo (the 11th CISSE) was successfully held in Beijing.The CISSE was hosted by China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service (CASWSS), with special support from International Federation on Ageing (IFA), the Embassy of Canada in Beijing, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Russian Clinical and Research Center for Geriatric Medicine, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, the China Foundation for the Development of the Elderly, and Fudan Institute on Ageing. The event was hosted by Beijing Zhongfu Elderly Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. Zhang Meiying, Vice Chairperson of the 11th National Committee of the CPPCC, attended the Expo and declared it open. Guests from the International Federation on Aging, the United Nations Population Fund, and countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, and the United States; leaders from relevant departments of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and leaders from the civil affairs bureaus of 16 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Beijing, Liaoning Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Shaanxi Province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; and heads of social organizations affiliated with relevant national ministries and commissions attended the event. Wu Yushao, President of the CASWSS, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech at the main forum. Xu Jianzhong, Executive President, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Huang Wei, the ambassador for CASWSS, hosted the opening ceremony and the main forum.

Zhang Meiying, Vice Chairperson of the 11th CPPCC presented the Expo and declared it open

Wu Yushao, President of CASWSS attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech

Xu Jianzhong, Executive Director of CASWSS attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech

This year's expo actively adapted to the trend of silver economy development, earnestly implemented the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services" and the national strategy of actively responding to population aging and developing the silver economy, focusing on the multi-level and diversified elderly care service needs of the elderly in the new era. It set up 10 exhibition areas, with a total of more than 220 government departments, social organizations, and brand institutions from more than 10 countries and regions participating in the exhibition and conference. Over 10 exchange and sharing sessions and related activities were held concurrently to explore new paths and models for the development of the elderly care service industry, contributing more wisdom and strength to promoting high-quality development of China's elderly care service industry and actively addressing population aging. Additionally, the newly launched "CASWSS Silver Economy Industry Platform" was officially launched at the expo to support the upgrading of the silver economy industry ecosystem.

At the opening ceremony, Xu Jianzhong, Executive President of CASWSS, Gregor Sneddon, Secretary-General of IFA, and Zhao Xuegang, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, delivered addresses respectively.

Xu Jianzhong pointed out in his speech that China has also entered a moderately aged society, with the elderly population's diverse, differentiated, and personalized service needs growing rapidly. Actively addressing population aging and promoting the high-quality development of the elderly care service industry have become a national strategy and a shared responsibility of the entire society. Against this backdrop, this year's expo, themed "Joining Hands to Promote New Productive Forces and Explore the Future of Silver Economy," brings together high-quality domestic and international resources and elderly care service providers to build a high-level international exchange and cooperation platform. It aims to accelerate the alignment of China's elderly care service industry with international cutting-edge concepts, technologies, and models, contributing to breaking through industry development bottlenecks, improving the quality of life for the elderly, and actively implementing the national strategy of addressing population aging.

Gregor Sneddon, Secretary-General of IFA,delivered an address

Gregor Sneddon, Secretary-General of the IFA, stated in his address that this expo fully demonstrates China's forward-thinking approach to addressing population aging. He pointed out that population aging requires global wisdom and collective commitment, and China's integrated medical and elderly care model, investments in smart elderly care technology, and community care systems are innovative practices worthy of praise and serve as global benchmarks. The International Federation on Aging values its long-standing friendship and cooperation with China and CASWSS for the Promotion of Elderly Care, and calls for joint efforts to promote respect, dignity, and well-being for the elderly worldwide.

Zhao Xuegang, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, delivered a speech in which he first extended warm congratulations on behalf of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs for the opening of the 11th CISSE. He noted that the expo has become a highly influential benchmark platform in the global elderly care sector, injecting momentum into the development of the silver economy and elderly care industry. Beijing has proposed the "Beijing Solution" to systematically address the challenges of elderly care in megacities through socialized and market-oriented approaches, making positive contributions to the high-quality development of elderly care services in the capital.

Zhao Xuegang, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau,delivered an address

Other guests attending the opening ceremony and main forum included Wang Hui, Deputy Inspector of the Department of Elderly Care Services under the Ministry of Civil Affairs; Liu Yan, Deputy Secretary of the 14th Joint Party Committee of National Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce; Hao Fuqing, former Deputy Director and Senior Inspector of the Department of Social Development under the National Development and Reform Commission; Kang Xuedong, Party Secretary and Director of the Department of Civil Affairs of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Shi Song, Party Secretary of the Department of Civil Affairs of Liaoning Province; Zhang Zhengqing, Party Secretary and Director of the Department of Civil Affairs of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region; and leaders from the departments of civil affairs of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei, Guangdong, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as representatives from social organizations and exhibiting companies.

The 11th China International Forum on the Development of the Elderly Care Service Industry, held concurrently with this year's expo, focused on innovative achievements in elderly care services both domestically and internationally, as well as new challenges in deepening reforms and promoting the development of the elderly care service industry and the silver economy. Government officials and industry managers from both domestic and international sectors actively contributed their insights and suggestions to address the challenges of an aging population.

At the main forum, Wu Yushao, President of CASWSS and Deputy Director of the Institute of Gerontology at Fudan University, delivered a speech titled "Expanding Elderly Social Participation and Actively Contributing 'Silver Economy' Forces." Combining policy and aging needs, he elaborated on the significant meaning and value of elderly social participation and related strategies from three dimensions: the core connotation of positive aging, the strong support for healthy aging, and the important supplement to elderly care services. Hao Fuqing, former Deputy Director of the Social Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission and Senior Inspector, delivered a speech titled "Silver Economy, Golden Future: Decoding the New Economic Growth Pole in an Aging Society." He analyzed the logic behind the development of the silver economy from the perspective of "five major trends," revealing its economic potential and multi-dimensional response strategies; Kang Xuedong, Party Secretary and Director of the Department of Civil Affairs of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, presented on the topic of "Beautiful Inner Mongolia: A Heaven for Elderly Care in the North," introducing the region's proactive exploratory practices and achievements in elderly care services, as well as the potential for travel-based elderly care; Fukuda Natsuki, First Secretary of the Economic Section of the Japanese Embassy in China, delivered a speech titled "Japan's Strategies for Addressing Aging,"introducing Japan's practical experiences and innovative approaches in elderly care, including its nursing insurance system and service choice rights; Jiang Haidong, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Civil Affairs Bureau, delivered a speech titled "Leveraging Guangxi's Longevity Resources to Build a National Travel-Based Elderly Care Destination," introducing the region's unique advantages and development potential in travel-based elderly care, as well as innovative measures such as policy support and industrial planning; Feng Chaoyong, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Shaanxi Province, shared Shaanxi Province's experience and achievements in the deep integration of science and technology, culture and tourism, medical care, and other enterprises with the silver economy under the theme of "Innovation-Driven, Collaborative Integration: Practices and Explorations in Promoting the High-Quality Development of Shaanxi's Silver Economy"; Vadim Samorodov, Director of the Public Affairs Department at the Russian Clinical and Research Center for Geriatric Medicine, introduced Russia's experience and achievements in building an elderly-friendly healthcare system through optimizing medical resource allocation, improving medical service quality, perfecting the medical insurance system, and establishing a comprehensive long-term care system.

The expo also focused on the increasingly diverse, differentiated, and personalized service needs of the elderly population, hosting six exchange and sharing sessions on safe aging, tech-enabled aging, travel-based aging, standardized development, companion care services, and aging assessments. Additionally, it featured the "Aging + AI: Smart Health and Aging for a New Future," a discussion on the business prospects of the elderly care industry, the first academic conference on the development of health and aging undergraduate programs, the launch ceremony for the Zhongfu Huiyang Silver Economy Industry Platform, and the Chaobai River Silver Economy Cooperation Forum and Sanhe City Health and Aging Industry Innovation Launch Event. Domestic and international experts, scholars, brand institution leaders, and vocational college representatives engaged in in-depth discussions on smart elderly care technology applications, industrial model innovation, talent cultivation systems, and regional collaborative development, providing theoretical support and practical pathways for the high-quality development of the elderly care services industry.

During this expo, over 30 mainstream media outlets, including the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and China Central Television, participated in reporting, with four media outlets, including the People's Daily Health Client, broadcasting live simultaneously, demonstrating high attention to the expo's innovative development.