Beijing Hosts 3rd Elderly Care Skills Competition as Aging Crisis Deepens

Beijing hosted the semi-finals of its third “Sijiqing Cup” Elderly Care Vocational Skills Competition on August 7-8, testing caregivers on everything from daily life assistance to rehabilitation services, according to Xinhua News. The event reflects a broader push to professionalize China’s elderly care workforce as the capital confronts one of the most rapid demographic transitions in the world.

A City Growing Old

The competition arrives at a critical moment for Beijing. By the end of 2024, the city’s resident elderly population—those aged 60 and above—reached 5.14 million, surpassing 5 million for the first time and accounting for 23.5% of all residents, as Beijing News reported. The elderly dependency ratio now stands at 36.5%, meaning roughly every three working-age people support one senior citizen.

Beijing has entered a moderately aging society and is accelerating toward severe aging. Projections indicate the city will enter a “severely aging society” in the early period of the 16th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), with the elderly population expected to peak mid-century. Among the 5.14 million elderly residents, 687,000 are aged 80 or older, a segment that demands the most intensive care.

Testing Skills for Real-World Care

The “Sijiqing Cup” competition is designed to mirror real service scenarios, requiring contestants to complete practical operations within specified time limits. Assessment covers not only hard skills like daily life care and rehabilitation services but also humanistic care, communication with elderly people, and health education abilities as core evaluation indicators.

Organizers say the competition aims to comprehensively test contestants’ qualities, promote learning through competition, build a high-quality elderly care workforce, and safeguard high-quality later life for the elderly. The event is part of the broader “Sijiqing” brand of elderly care initiatives in Beijing, named after the Sijiqing area in Haidian District, home to one of the city’s most prestigious public elderly care institutions.

A National Workforce Shortage

The need for skilled caregivers is acute. China faces a national shortage of elderly care workers estimated at 5.5 million, according to a 2024 report covered by Beijing News. Demand for elderly care workers nationwide is estimated at 6 million, but only about 500,000 are currently employed. The existing workforce skews older—the average age of elderly care workers is 49.14 years—and educational attainment remains low, with 56.13% having only junior high school education and just 2.93% holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Beijing currently employs over 34,000 elderly care service workers, according to Beijing Economic Information Center. The city has been working to attract younger, better-educated professionals into the field, including through partnerships between Beijing institutions and vocational schools in other provinces to establish talent cultivation mechanisms.

New Legal Framework for Elderly Care

Beijing’s efforts to professionalize elderly care are now backed by new legislation. The Beijing Elderly Care Services Regulation, the city’s first foundational and comprehensive local regulation on elderly care services, took effect on July 1, 2026, as Worker’s Daily reported. The nine-chapter, 77-article law establishes a three-tier elderly care service network at district, sub-district, and community levels, defines three categories of services—basic, market-based, and social mutual assistance—and supports medical-elderly care integration.

The regulation also establishes a long-term care insurance system and differentiated fee management for public, inclusive, and commercial elderly care institutions. The Beijing Municipal Government has described the law as a critical institutional foundation for responding to population aging and ensuring high-quality elderly care services.

Building a Professional Care Workforce

Beijing’s approach to addressing its caregiving challenge extends beyond regulation. The city has developed a substantial elderly care infrastructure, including 608 registered elderly care institutions with 109,000 beds, 105 regional elderly care centers, and more than 1,500 community elderly care service stations. All institutions can provide medical-elderly care integration services.

Competitions like the “Sijiqing Cup” serve a dual purpose: they raise the professional bar for caregivers and enhance the social recognition of a profession that has historically been undervalued. As Beijing’s elderly population continues to grow, the demand for skilled, compassionate caregivers will only intensify. The city’s investment in vocational training and professional development signals a recognition that quality elderly care is not just a social necessity but an economic and political priority.

What to Watch

As Beijing moves toward severe aging in the coming years, the effectiveness of its elderly care workforce strategy will be closely watched. Key indicators include the growth of professionally trained caregivers, the impact of the new regulation on service quality, and whether younger workers can be attracted to a field that has struggled with low pay and limited career advancement. The “Sijiqing Cup” competition may be a small event, but it represents a significant step in China’s broader effort to ensure dignity and quality of life for its rapidly growing elderly population.