Can Korea and China tackle aging together?

Senior residents receive rehabilitation treatment at an elderly care home in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 16, 2025. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yun

HONG KONG — Korea and China have had a turbulent relationship in recent years as they compete across a range of high-tech industries. But the two countries now appear to be bonding over a shared challenge: their rapidly aging societies.

The issue has featured on the agenda at meetings between Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping dating back to last year, with the leaders pledging to work together to deal with the economic changes being brought by their nations’ low birthrates.

In November, following a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the two nations signed a cooperation agreement on the “silver economy,” with Xi highlighting the need for mutually beneficial outcomes.

During his state visit to China in January, Lee also named the silver economy — existing and emerging sectors catering to the elderly population — as an area with “limitless collaboration opportunities,” despite the two countries’ competitive status in other areas of the global market.

Analysts broadly agreed with that assessment, pointing to the sector as a potential basis for future collaboration between the Asian economies — even amid geopolitical headwinds.

“First, it’s definitely one of the least sensitive areas of cooperation in China-Korea relations, and second, it’s a 100 percent growing market in both countries,” Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said.

Both nations are aging at an unprecedented pace, with demographic changes unfolding faster than many policymakers had anticipated.

Korea has among the lowest birthrates in the world, and the country is already classified as a “super-aged society.” In 2025, more than 21 percent of its population — or 10.84 million people — was aged 65 or above.

China is not quite as far along the curve, but its decline in fertility has been even steeper. The country’s population shrank for the fourth consecutive year in 2025 as its number of births fell to the lowest level recorded since 1949. By 2035, China is expected to have more than 400 million people aged 60 or over.

Korea’s early experience with a rapidly aging society has equipped it with expertise in care-service management, institutional design and competitive digital health technologies, according to Choi Seong-jin, a professor of strategic management at Hanyang University Business School.

President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Jan. 5. Yonhap

China, which is racing to expand its care infrastructure to meet its demographic demands, could benefit from Korea’s well-tested, age-friendly solutions, he said.

Gary Ng, senior economist for Asia-Pacific at the investment bank Natixis, also said, “China does not lack capital or manufacturing capabilities. It is about innovative solutions in aged care and insurance as well as advanced medical equipment.”

In exchange, Korean firms could gain access to a vast new market. A report from the Fudan Institute on Ageing, run by Shanghai’s Fudan University, projected that China’s silver economy would be worth 19 trillion yuan ($2.74 trillion) by 2035, equivalent to nearly 13.6 percent of China’s 2025 gross domestic product.

China’s State Council released its first strategy document on developing the silver economy in 2024, and authorities have encouraged the adoption of new technologies in the elderly care system, such as robots capable of delivering meals and providing companionship.

“Once something is locally endorsed (in China), iteration can be fast, and the addressable market is enormous,” said Anthony W. D. Anastasi, assistant professor of economics at the Sino-British College, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.

Market watchers see great potential for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven care robots that combine Korean precision hardware and sensors with China’s vast AI training data sets and manufacturing scale.

But full-scale collaboration might be limited for some time, Anastasi said, as such “strategic technologies” could quickly become sensitive, even when used in benign contexts. Ng also noted that data security concerns could pose challenges for Korean firms operating in China.

For now, analysts said early gains were more likely in knowledge-based areas, such as the operation of elderly care facilities and workforce training. The tourism industry, boosted by visa-free travel and increasingly active senior lifestyles, could also offer growth opportunities with fewer political hurdles.

“The scope for joint research and development is wide, with substantial room for AI applications and consumer market expansion,” said Park Han-jin, a visiting professor of Chinese foreign affairs and commerce at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. “If developed properly, this could grow into a major industry segment.”