With more than 1.94 million senior citizens, Nantong looks to develop the aged-care sector, Ding Congrong and Miao Bei report.

Nantong, a coastal city in East China’s Jiangsu province, is facing a new set of challenges from an aging society.

The city is among the first in the country to become an aging society, with its aging population accounting for a higher proportion than the national average.

Data from the local statistics bureau show that 1.94 million Nantong residents are aged over 60, which accounts for a quarter of the city’s population.

The proportion is much higher than the 10.4 percent national average.

The aging problem is becoming more serious as the number of elderly residents increases rapidly.

A 79-year-old Nantong resident takes a picture of a tourist attraction at a local park. [YOU LIAN FOR CHINA DAILY]

By the end of 2030, the proportion of aging residents is expected to account for 35 percent of the city’s population.

How to cope with the social and economic problems that accompany such a large aging society has become an increasing challenge for the local government.

“Accelerating the development of the social service industry for the elderly is a tough and long-term task,” said Wang Dezhong, chairman of the Nantong Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

“The development of the industry is related to many families’ happiness and the stability of society, which should be planned in advance and put at the top of the government agenda,” he said.

Wang said the committee attaches huge importance to the issue and carried out investigation and research for more than two months this year.

The aim of the research is to have a better idea of the current condition of and problems of the elderly in Nantong’s social service sector.

After a large amount of field work and visits to homes of the elderly, four research reports and two field reports were compiled.

These reports are the most comprehensive materials on the aging society of the city, and provide first-hand and important information.

The committee produced a proposal based on the six reports for local government leaders.

Compared with the fast increasing aging population, the development of the related service sector has fallen behind.

The reports found major problems, including prejudice in the care and services for old people, poor working conditions for caregivers and a lack of professional training for those working in the sector.

To solve these major obstacles that block the development of the sector, the proposal suggests Nantong seize the opportunity of a central government plan for national comprehensive reform pilot programs for the aging population to build Nantong into a pilot city for carrying out such reforms.

The proposal also suggests the development of the sector should be part of the city’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and Nantong should speed up facility construction and increase funding.

Coordinated development of urban and rural areas that considers facilities for the elderly is also highlighted in the proposal.

To provide better service to the aging population, the proposal suggests that in urban areas, facilities should be within 15 minutes walking distance of large communities.

“We should make use of the resources to keep creating new ways, such as allowing private capital to be the major force to develop the care for the aged,” Wang said.

The proposal also suggests each county and region should speed up the pace at which they promote home-care service organizations and establish a series of facilities such as restaurants and housekeeping companies in each community to meet the demands of older residents.

The government should offer subsidies to social service organizations to provide meals, medical care, cleaning and emergency services for the aging population, the proposal said.

The proposal encourages private investors to establish a chain of service institutes to improve standards and meet the specific demands of older residents.

“Cultivating a large batch of people that specialize in professional aging services is vital to the development of the aged-care sector,” Wang said.

Contact the writers through dingcongrong@chinadaily.com.cn