President says people's well-being must be priority in China's modernization drive

President Xi Jinping has called for enhancing inclusive and fundamental livelihood initiatives, as China prioritizes addressing pressing public concerns as part of a broader effort to advance the high-quality development of civil affairs work.

The directives from Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, were conveyed to participants at the 15th National Civil Affairs Conference, held in Beijing on Friday and Saturday.

Lauding the new progress achieved in all aspects of civil affairs in recent years, Xi emphasized the paramount importance of the people's well-being in China's modernization drive. He also urged Party committees and governments at all levels to adopt a people-centered approach in resolving the most practical problems that are of the greatest and most direct concern to the people.

In addition, he called for more efforts to implement a proactive national strategy to address issues of aging, and to improve work in social assistance, social welfare, social affairs and social governance.

Xi also emphasized the need for civil affairs departments to take the initiative in enhancing benefits for the people, meeting their needs and helping them overcome difficulties.

While addressing the conference, Premier Li Qiang said that advancing Chinese modernization requires a continuous enhancement of civil affairs work. This includes effectively safeguarding and promoting the interests of various groups, such as disadvantaged populations and individuals with disabilities.

At the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, the Party reaffirmed its commitment to achieving basic socialist modernization by 2035 and building China by midcentury into a modern nation that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, via the Chinese path to modernization.

The endeavor to modernize China, a nation of 1.4 billion people, presents a unique challenge that no other industrialized nation has ever faced, and civil affairs work will play a crucial role in this drive toward modernization, experts said.

Such work encompasses a range of services, including child welfare, elderly care, social welfare, social assistance, marriage registration, charitable programs and funeral arrangements.

The modernization task is further complicated by the aging population.

As of 2023, nearly 300 million Chinese were age 60 or above. Official projections indicate that by 2050, this demographic group is expected to make up one-third of the population, leading to a substantial increase in demand for elderly care services.

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs has strengthened its policy framework, diversified care options and enhanced regulatory measures, resulting in significant improvements in elderly care services," said Li Yongxin, a deputy director of the ministry's elderly care services department, earlier this month.

Li noted that the number of elderly care centers and facilities in China had risen to over 410,000 by June, with 369,000 of them being community-based. This marked a 100 percent increase in elderly care facilities and a 120 percent increase in community-based facilities since 2019.

Despite the growing number of caregiving facilities, China is still grappling with a shortage of caregivers, with only 500,000 available in 2021 to meet the nation's needs.

To address this shortfall, authorities have advocated home-based care, enabling seniors to remain in their residences while receiving regular visits from community workers and medical professionals.

According to ministry data, since 2021, around 350,000 seniors have benefited from home-based care.

In addition, authorities are increasing the supply of caregivers through creation of more caregiving majors in higher education, with around 100,000 students having been enrolled each year as of the end of 2023.