China. Harnessing potential of the silver economy

An aging population is often portrayed as a looming crisis: fewer workers, more pensioners, rising healthcare costs and increased pressure on public finances. But this captures only half the story. Longer lifespans are not just creating new fiscal challenges; they are also reshaping demand, investment, employment, technology and the institutions that underpin economic security. China offers a particularly important example of this transformation. At the end of 2025, people aged 60 and above accounted for 23 percent of the country's...