Greying China: Opportunities Within China’s Healthcare Sector

China has one of the most rapidly ageing societies in the world.

The pace of this demographic shift is beyond the government's ability to cope and creates numerous policy challenges. However, this challenge has created many opportunities for British companies. According to a recent government report, 8% of China's consumption is related to products and services for the elderly, with this proportion expected to rise to one-third by 2050.

Healthcare for China’s elderly

China's proportion of working-age population (16-59) started falling for the first time in 2012. That year it constituted 69.2% of the population; by 2015 it had fallen to 66.3%. Although China's ageing problem is not as severe as some other countries (half of Japan's population is over 50), the pace of the ageing and China's level of development create a particularly acute challenge

By 2050, the elderly will account for 23.9% of China's population, a similar percentage to what is predicted for the United Kingdom, and which is much larger than the global proportion of 15.6%.

China’s ageing population, along with mass migration and consequent break-up of traditional family structures, have caused China's traditional family-based model for elderly care to collapse. The family was always the basis for the care of elderly parents in China. However, the smaller, dispersed families typical today are poorly equipped to care for elderly relatives.

Private Sector to the Rescue

The government is increasingly turning to the private sector to help solve the challenges that its ageing society presents and plug the gaps that China’s healthcare system – which has not kept pace with development in other areas of the economy –  cannot fill. 

The need to provide for the healthcare demands of China’s elderly has created numerous opportunities for British companies that have the requisite skills and experience in providing products and services that an ageing society demands.

1) Care Home Management. The concept of both care homes and retirement communities are new in China. Chinese companies are actively looking to partner with foreign companies that can provide their expertise and sometimes brand name to their operations. 

2) Designing and Planning. Companies with experience in designing and planning healthcare infrastructure that can accommodate the care and community facilities in nursing homes and retirement communities are in big demand.

3) Specialist Healthcare Products.  Many health issues, such as diabetes, are acute among China’s elderly. Companies with products and services that can help detect and treat such prevalent conditions will find opportunities in China.

4) Training and Education. China has a severe shortage of healthcare workers with qualifications and experience in geriatric care. Many UK companies have fantastic experience in training, qualifications and assessment in all niches of this field, so will find some excellent opportunities here.

Despite the numerous cultural differences between traditional forms of elderly care in China and the UK, changes in society and the rapid increase in the number of elderly people in China mean that the Chinese system will be forced to move closer to something more similar to what we have here. British companies with experience in catering to the needs of the elderly will find high demand for their expertise in China.

If you are in the healthcare industry, come along to our roundtable event at CBBC’s China SME Forum on 26 September to discuss how British SMEs can take advantage of these opportunities.