(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- China plans to develop more smart devices for seniors as the elderly consumer market is expected to exceed CNY106 trillion (USD15.8 trillion) in 2050 from CNY4 trillion (USD632 billion) in 2014 because of the country’s rapidly aging population.

To support seniors, China will speed up the application of information and hardware technologies, including big data and artificial intelligence, and improve the intelligence of products such as assistive devices for rehabilitation, health testing devices, and home service robots, according to an elderly care plan released by the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Feb. 21.

The number of Chinese aged 60 and older will more than double to 28 percent of the population in 2040 from 12.4 percent in 2020, the World Health Organization has estimated in a report, saying that the country’s aging process is much faster than other low- and middle-income countries.

China also aims to develop special home appliances, furniture, bathing devices, recreational products, and assistive robots for the elderly, according to the plan.

China's drugs, care and rehabilitation products for the elderly are still relatively not up to scratch, and geriatric departments and related medical services in major hospitals are also imperfect, Chen Yonglan, managing director and president of French private equity fund Eurazeo’s Asia Pacific China region, told Yicai Global.

The needs of the elderly have not been developed in a systematic and market-oriented way, Chen added, noting that more funding into research and development and macro policies are needed in the future.

China has 88,000 patents for smart elderly care equipment and technologies such as intelligent wheelchairs, rehabilitation robots, voice and limb control, and the number of patent applications has been on the rise in recent years, according to global patent data search platform PatSnap.

Some tech companies such as Gree Electric Appliances, Oppo Mobile Telecommunications, Baidu, Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, and Alibaba Group Holding have applied for patents in this field.

Editor: Futura Costaglione