The elderly show the greeting cards they received at a community in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Oct. 23, 2020. An event to greet the Senior's Day, also known as the Double Ninth Festival or the Chongyang Festival, was held in the community on Friday. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen)

China is to accelerate the development of intelligent terminal products for elderly people, in an effort to solve the difficulties that the elderly encounter in the use of smart technology and allow them to share the fruits of informatization, according to a notice issued by the State Council on Tuesday.

The effort to promote elderly-friendly intelligent technology came after many seniors have had problems getting used to smart devices, which has caused a lot of discussion as Chinese society deals with the aging problem.

The notice proposed stepping up efforts in the development of intelligent terminal products such as smart assistive devices, smart home and health monitoring devices and elderly care devices.

It also stated the need to issue a catalog of smart health and elderly care products and services, to carry out application pilot demonstrations, and promote the upgrading of smart terminals in accordance with the elderly’s demand.

According to the plan, by the end of 2020 China will implement a number of effective measures to solve the most urgent problems facing the elderly in the use of smart technology. 

By the end of 2021, the country will promote a number of smart services catering to the elderly generation in the field of travel, medical treatment, consumption, entertainment and public services.

By the end of 2022, the intelligent services are expected to be more accessible and more convenient for elderly people than they are currently. The online and offline services will be more efficient and coordinated, and a long-term mechanism for solving the "digital gap" faced by the elderly will be established.

China's Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly states that "elderly people” in China are citizens over 60 years old.

By the end of 2019, China had a population of 254 million aged 60 or above, accounting for 18.1 percent of the national population. The number is expected to exceed 300 million in the next five years, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.