Chinese Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING — China will offer improved services to elderly people receiving home-based care, as most Chinese senior citizens prefer to live at home, Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan said Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing "two sessions."

The ministry will help adapt home environments to make life easier for the elderly, developing home-based smart nursing beds, and offering door-to-door services to help the elderly with meals, cleaning, medicine and bathing, he said.

The ministry and 10 other departments have worked to roll out a tiered system to classify potential aid recipients, and allowed those not qualified for subsistence allowances to apply special aids such as in education, housing and healthcare

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It is particularly necessary to establish a visiting and caring system for empty-nesters and lonely or solitary elderly people, Lu said, adding that community-embedded elderly care institutions will be also vigorously developed, so that "the elderly can enjoy convenient services at their doorstep."

According to the minister, by the end of 2023, China's population aged 60 and above had reached 297 million, accounting for 21.1 percent of the country's total population.

The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"Social aid commands huge public attention, and is a matter of social justice," he said at a minister's passage interview in Beijing on the sidelines of the two sessions, the annual gathering of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, and the top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.

"We must carry out related policies openly and transparently, and step up disclosure of beneficiaries," he added.

Lu said his administration will launch a campaign to rectify nepotism and other wrongdoings in the field of social aid, and make sure the welfare programs serve as the last defense to keep financially strapped groups afloat during hard times.

Lu's remarks came amid a nationwide effort to pinpoint vulnerable groups and prevent them from sliding into poverty.

As part of the effort, the ministry and 10 other departments have worked to roll out a tiered system to classify potential aid recipients, and allowed those not qualified for subsistence allowances to apply special aids such as in education, housing and healthcare.

Lu said authorities put about 66 million financially vulnerable people under surveillance for possible bankruptcy, an arrangement aimed to roll out aid quicker and more precisely.

As part of the effort to cope with aging, Lu said the ministry is working to promote services that help older residents live independent lives at home or cared for within their own community

Big data will be combined with home visits to ensure needy people are covered by existing social welfare programs and let the public feel the country's institutional strength.

Speaking at the event, the minister also sought to address concerns over eldercare as the country rapidly ages.

Lu said 297 million Chinese people were aged 60 and older by end of last year, and among them, 217 million were aged 65 and older.

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"The aging process in our country has three features: the scale of elderly population, rapid aging process and the task of coping with aging is arduous," he said.

As part of the effort to cope with aging, Lu said the ministry is working to promote services that help older residents live independent lives at home or cared for within their own community. He said the strategy is in line with Chinese tradition for people to spend their old age closer at home.

"We'll comply with the trend and supply related services. We'll also help refurbish older people's homes to make them more accessible, set up smart eldercare beds at homes, and roll out services to help them have meals on time," he said.