Smart Elderly Care in China: A Preliminary Overview

China is facing a dramatic demographic challenge. Because of decades of strict birth control in the recent past, of the low fertility rates and of the increase of life quality and expectancy, China has become in a few years a fast ageing society. Since 2016, the government has devoted its attention to the needs of older adults, promoting various policies, at central and local levels, in order to encourage the research and use of new technologies in eldercare. These policies place a particular emphasis on Smart Eldercare, perceived as suitable to the Chinese care models and traditions. The paper presents the main policies fostering Smart eldercare in China, the direction of the research and the problems encountered in its implementation. The methodology is based on: collection and analysis of scientific literature and of official reports; observation (based on literature and sources) of government policies and of the main threads of research on smart systems and new technologies for elderly health and care services in China.