Beijing is looking to establish 208 care centers for the elderly at community and township levels by next year, according to a civil affairs official.

Li Wanjun, head of the Beijing Bureau of Civil Affairs, said, "All the care centers combined will be able to cover the demand for services for the aged and fill the void of hospital beds at nursing homes."

The municipality had about 3 million people age 60 or above by the end of last year, or 22.5 percent of its registered population. This is a much higher rate than the national average of 15.5 percent.

The number of people age 60 or above could reach 5.6 million by 2040, according to the civil affairs authority.

The municipality allocated 240 million yuan ($38.7 million) to establish 104 community care centers last year, and the authority is aiming to complete another 40 to 60 centers this year.

It will also encourage more private capital to invest in nursing homes, Li told a forum on the development of the service industry for Chinese seniors this month.

The city has provided 200 million yuan since 2011 for subsidies to boost the development of community-based nursing homes and services for the elderly.

Li said the authority will also explore use of the mobile Internet, cloud computing and the Internet of Things to develop intelligent nursing home communities.

"We will encourage companies to combine information technology with the elderly-care sector, and develop products such as mobile phone applications or other high-tech products," he said.

(China Daily 05/29/2015 page6)