China Launches National Pilot Programme to Deploy Robots in Elderly Care
- tech360.tv
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
China has launched a national pilot programme to accelerate the use of robots in elderly care, aiming to address the country’s ageing population and labour shortages.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in partnership with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, issued a notice inviting organisations to participate in the initiative, which targets home, community and institutional care settings.
The programme seeks to improve the quality of life for senior citizens, reduce the caregiving burden on families, and strengthen elderly care infrastructure.
Robots will be used to assist people with disabilities or cognitive impairments, provide emotional support, improve health, enable smart home functions and help with daily tasks.
Over the next three years, participating organisations must trial more than 200 robotic systems in over 200 households or deploy at least 20 units in 20 communities or institutions.
They are also encouraged to develop industry standards and evaluation frameworks to support the integration of robotics into elderly care.
The initiative comes as Chinese companies such as Unitree Robotics, UBTech Robotics, Fourier and AgiBot invest in humanoid machines for home use, despite the challenges compared to industrial applications.
China’s ageing crisis has been driven by the one-child policy, declining birth rates and rising life expectancy.
By the end of last year, more than 300 million people in China were aged 60 and above, accounting for 22% of the population, with over 200 million aged 65 and older.
The National Health Commission projects that by around 2035, the senior population will exceed 400 million, making up over 30% of the total population.
In January, the State Council issued guidelines to promote technology and digitisation in elderly care, including the development of humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces and artificial intelligence.
In February, state broadcaster CCTV reported that Chinese experts were leading efforts to set international standards for senior care robots.
Despite high costs, limited capabilities and incomplete regulations, national policies are expected to drive growth in the sector.
China’s elderly-care robot market was valued at about 7.9 billion yuan (USD 1.1 billion) in 2023 and is projected to grow at an annual rate of 15%, reaching approximately 15.9 billion yuan by 2029, according to the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.
China launches pilot programme to integrate robots into elderly care
Programme targets home, community and institutional settings
Over 300 million Chinese citizens are aged 60 and above
Source: SCMP