On the afternoon of November 6, 2024, the Seventh Hongqiao International Economic Forum themed "A Shared Silver Economy: New Opportunities in an Aging Society" was successfully held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). The forum, hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), co-organized by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission and organized by Institute of Economic Development, Shanghai Investment Consulting Group Co., Ltd., focused on open cooperation and innovative development of the silver economy. It aimed to discuss new ideas and paths for actively responding to population aging and promoting high-quality development, providing new opportunities for the world through China's new development.

Zhang Ping, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, delivered a speech in which he said that in the face of new population norms, new technological revolutions, new industrial structures, and new employment forms, developing the silver economy is an inevitable choice for China based on its national conditions. It is a necessary choice for coordinating the present and the future, as well as the economy and people's livelihood, and it is also an inevitable choice for achieving global win-win. He looked forward to the international community working together to enhance national welfare and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results in silver economy cooperation.

On behalf of Liu Sushe, a member of the Party Committee and Vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the head of the Social Department Department of NDRC said in the host's speech that China has taken the development of the silver economy as an important direction for actively responding to population aging. It aims to meet the multi-level and diverse needs of the elderly, accelerate the cultivation of potential industries, develop new technologies, new business forms, and models, continuously optimize the supply of products and services, and enhance the internal driving force and innovation vitality of industrial development. Faced with new opportunities in the silver economy, the international community should strengthen communication and cooperation, jointly create an open and inclusive development environment, consolidate the ties of mutually beneficial cooperation, and adhere to the path of innovation-driven development.

Tang Wenhong, a member of the CPC Leadership Group of the Ministry of Commerce and Assistant Minister, said in his speech that developing the silver economy is an important measure to actively respond to population aging and promote high-quality economic development. It helps to stimulate domestic consumption, cultivate new drivers of economic development, and allow the elderly to share the fruits of development. The Ministry of Commerce will accelerate the establishment of a policy system for service consumption, actively promote the quality and expansion of domestic services, promote the docking of supply and demand in the health and elderly care industry, expand two-way investment cooperation in the silver economy, and actively promote the development of the silver economy to better serve the development of Chinese-style modernization.

Pio Smith, the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Director, said in his speech that the trend of aging population brings challenges, but also new opportunities for innovation in medical care, lifelong learning, and inclusive policies. By encouraging active and healthy aging, providing elderly-inclusive policies and environments, and giving full play to the potential of the silver economy, and smoothing the path for the elderly to contribute to social development, it will contribute to building a more resilient and prosperous society.

This paralell session also invited guests from government, business, and academic commnity to discuss topics such as the impact of population aging on the labor market and the opportunity window for developing the silver economy.

Christopher A. Pissarides, a Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Social Science and the 2010 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences, said that many countries around the world, including China, are facing the trend of population aging. There will be more employment opportunities in the service sector, and it is necessary to expand the scale of service industry development and promote the marketization reform of household production. In the future, China still needs to improve productivity and employment rates to cope with aging. The government can take action in areas such as elderly human resources, encouraging technological research and development, improving fertility support, and optimizing the education system.

Cai Fang, chief expert of the national high-end think tank of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that there are three opportunity windows for developing the silver economy. The first is to maintain reasonable growth potential, and China's potential growth rate during the population transition stage is significantly higher than that of similar stage economies. The second is the expansion of public goods boundaries, where government public expenditure will increase, enhancing the supply of public goods. The third is the population structure changes that smooth the peaks and fill the valleys, during the process of fewer children and aging, the effects of changes in different population numbers will partially offset each other. It is necessary to integrate public resources and further release the silver dividend.

In the practical exchange session, relevant leaders from the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the China National Committee on Aging, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the German-Chinese Health Organization, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, the China Pacific Insurance Group, and the JORU Group discussed how to promote high-quality development of the silver economy.

In the results release session, Zhang Yuxian, Director of the Economic Forecasting Department of the State Information Center, PRC, released the Report on China's Urban Capacity Index to Actively Respond to Population Aging (2024). This is the third consecutive year that the index report has been released, aiming to promote the enhancement of the society's ability to actively respond to population aging in the form of "urban physical examination". The report comprehensively calculates the capacity index of 337 prefecture-level and above cities across the country from five dimensions: policy support, wealth reserve, service system completeness, social environment friendliness, and silver economy growth, and releases the top 100 cities leading in actively responding to population aging.

Zhang Wei, Deputy Director of the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC), Ministry of Commerce, released the Development Report on E - commerce for the Elderly. The report deeply explains the concept of silver e-commerce for the first time, systematically and comprehensively analyzes the specific business characteristics of silver e-commerce, summarizes and judges the future development trends of silver e-commerce, and proposes countermeasures and suggestions for the healthy development of silver e-commerce.

There are over 300 people participating, including guests and representatives from national ministries and commissions, international organizations, domestic and foreign financial institutions and enterprises, think tank research institutions, national industry associations and social organizations, local Development and Reform Commissions, cities that actively responding to population aging, related industrial parks and development zones, and media groups.