[Senior Trend] Observing Senior Industry Innovation in China②

Eboram, CEO of ThirdAge

From the beginning of the year, news from China has been coming in one after another. In early last month, 1,339 Chinese companies set up booths and showcased new technologies at 'CES 2025,' the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA. Despite the U.S. continuing strong regulations against China, including mass visa refusals for Chinese companies, they unveiled flying cars, humanoid robots with 43 joints, and mass-produced autonomous vehicles. For the first time in a while, Korean media covered advanced technology news related to China. BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer from China, officially declared its entry into the Korean market. They are aggressively establishing major showrooms and service centers nationwide on a large scale. Xiaomi, famous for cost-effective electronics to the extent of being nicknamed the "Accident of the Continent," also established a Korean subsidiary. During the Lunar New Year holiday, China's native AI model 'DeepSeek (深度求索)' appeared. People were shocked globally, and its impact was significant. Stocks of American companies, once giants in the AI field, plummeted, and numerous analytical articles emerged on how Chinese companies, as latecomers, achieved results through policies, talent development, and resource efficiency. 'Made in China' was no longer just cheap goods but was heading toward innovation.

For the author, who hopes Korea will be the 'catfish' in the rapidly aging Asian society where no clear solution is yet visible, it was a complex feeling. Having founded ThirdAge to quickly benchmark Japan's senior business and export services or products overseas, including China, by applying Korea's unique strengths, China is advancing by skipping many development stages. Recently, 'smart elderly care' has been more frequently covered in Chinese media, and in December last year, a 'China Senior Business Insight Delegation' was formed. The reaction from those around was quite different from when planning a visit to Japan. What do those who said, "What is there to see in China's senior industry?" think now? Although we are seniors in an aging society, perhaps due to the enormous elderly population, Chinese industry experts are much more anxious. The government supports commercialization incentives on a large scale while preparing elderly care research and investment funds. The private sector has defined the 'silver' field as a future industry and started large-scale investments. While there was high interest in overseas advanced cases, they said they did not know much about Korea's silver industry. Just as we were indifferent. Therefore, arranging visits or meetings in China was much more difficult than in Japan. Through existing guanxi (relationships), we barely managed to open the door to exchanges.

Continuing from the previous column, after parting with Chinese academic experts, the next destination was a kind of dementia cafe. To understand and embrace the increasing number of dementia seniors due to population aging, the Shanghai municipal government created 'Memory Cafes' within local community centers. Currently located in four areas with high aging rates such as Pudong, Yangpu, and Changning, they have been actively supporting the establishment of such cafes for the past five years. In Chinese cities, community centers are places where residents can read books, learn cooking, dance, and history, with active participation from children to the elderly throughout the day. At the entrance of the branch we visited hung a signboard reading 'SDFC (Shanghai Dementia Friendly Community),' indicating a dementia-friendly community. It felt familiar, perhaps because KBS aired a three-part series in 2018 called 'The Restaurant That Forgot Orders.' The cafe is operated by volunteers in their 50s and employees in their 70s with mild dementia. A white-haired grandmother serves coffee, while the volunteer constantly repeats the names and preparation methods of the ordered coffee. There is also a note saying, "Do not be surprised if a latte comes out when you ordered an Americano." According to those in charge, dementia seniors make mistakes, but understanding and empathy for them in the community are growing. Even with dementia, they can live outside, earn a little money, and most importantly, smile and have family members come and go. Since no one is exempt from aging, it is an opportunity to embrace our future selves. Inside the cafe, people of all ages from children to seniors were seated.

The next place visited was a law firm on the 65th floor of Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China (third tallest in the world). Famous for its observatory, the view of the Pudong financial district and the Huangpu River outside the conference room was spectacular. It is a local Shanghai law firm with 400 lawyers working and overseas branches including Japan. After explaining that in Korea, with the intensifying aging population, issues such as business succession, inheritance tax, and guardianship for dementia seniors are becoming important, I asked about the situation in China. Participants were surprised to learn that there are no inheritance or gift taxes between parents and children. Of course, there are taxes related to asset holding and transfer, but they are a kind of transaction tax and relatively low. Additionally, when gifting or inheriting personal real estate or stocks, the source of funds is not investigated. The wealthy often engage in overseas commercial activities such as export goods and directly use local financial products. The Chinese government is also trying to establish a tax system suitable for rapid economic growth. They have a goal to implement tax reforms by 2035, but it is still a distant prospect. I thought anew that aging issues are similar and different across countries.

Now, it is time to talk about visits to Chinese-style urban silver towns and daycare centers.

Eboram, CEO of ThirdAge