On 5 May, The Opening Ceremony of The 9th China International Senior Services Expo (the 9th CISSE)& The 9th Forum on the Development of Chinese Senior Service Industry was held at Beijing·China National Convention Center.

Zhang Meiying, Vice Chairperson of the 11th CPPCC delared opening of the fair.

The 9th CISSE was hosted by China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service (CASWSS), China Health Association and Zhongfu Elderly Service Co., Ltd., specially supported by International Federation on Ageing, Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, Embassy of Canada, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, China Social Welfare Foundation, China Charity Alliance and Fudan Institue of Ageing, and organized by Beijing Zhongfu Elderly Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. There are 5 exhibition zones on this expo, and more than 280 government departments, social organizations and brand enterprises from more than 20 countries attended. The 9th Forum on the Development of Chinese Senior Service Industry and relevant sub forums was held concurrently，guests from International Federation on Ageing and countries including Canada, Netherlands, France, Russia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Iceland, leaders from Ministry of Civil Affairs and Department of Civil Affairs of multiple provinces as well as principles of subordinate social organizations of national government departments attended the opening ceremony and the main forum.

This year's fair earnestly implemented the spirit of the 20th Party Congress, fully cooperated with the Party and State's national strategy to actively cope with population ageing, put into practice the concept of positive ageing and healthy ageing, focused on the needs of the elderly for a better life in the new era, further played the role of a platform for social organizations to gather wisdom and strength, promote in-depth exchanges and cooperation between domestic and foreign industries by organizing this year's fair and related activities, actively cultivated new business models for elderly services and expanded new markets for elderly services, so as to make new contributions to continuously improving the well-being of the elderly and promoting social harmony and progress.

Zhang Meiying, Vice Chairperson of the 11th National Committee of CPPCC addressed the ceremony and declared the opening of the fair. Gregory Ross Shaw, Director of International & Corporate Relations of International Federation on Ageing, Jean Christian-Brillant, Minister (Commercial) of Embassy of Canada and Guo Hanqiao, Vice Director of Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau attended and addressed the opening ceremony.The Opening Ceremony of the 9th CISSE was presided over by FENG Xiaoli, Director of the CISSE Organizing Committee and President of CASWSS.

In her address, Vice Chairperson Zhang Meiying pointed out that since the 18th CPC National Congress, actively responding to population ageing has become an engine to promote the development of elderly services in China. Under the leadership of by the Party and the State's major plan and policy advice, a series of new achievements have been made in the development of China's elderly course and the construction of the elderly service system. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, and the Party Central Committee elevated actively responding to population ageing to a national strategy, with special arrangements being made in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and Vision 2035 of the People's Republic of China. The 20th CPC National Congress clearly stated that ‘we will pursue a proactive national strategy to population aging, develop elderly care programs and services, and provide better services for elderly people who live alone. By doing so, we can ensure that basic elderly care is accessible to the entire elderly population. In order to promote the high-quality development of elderly services, the State has explored, innovated and made continuous efforts in top-level design, system construction, supply-side reform and quality improvement, and the spectrum of positively responding to population aging by the whole society has taken initial shape. With the active advocacy and promotion of government departments and the active participation of social forces, the China International Senior Services Expo has been held for eight consecutive sessions and has been widely recognized and praised by colleagues in the elderly services sector at home and abroad, and has become an event for the industry to pool wisdom, cultivate brands, innovate products and integrate development, thus contributing to the high-quality development of China's elderly services indndustry.

Gregory Ross Shaw, Director of International & Corporate Relations of the International congratulated the opening of the expo on behalf of the IFA. He pointed out that in the context of increasing population aging, the holding of the 9th CISSE was of important practical significance. The leadership of the host CASWSS, with foresight, enthusiasm and full efforts, has made the expo a grand fair anticipated by all and develop every year, fulfilling global needs and attracting more and more international and domestic exhibitors, and significantly promoting the development of elderly care industry. Through the Expo, China would undoubtedly become a leading force in addressing the elderly care dilemma.

Jean-Christian Brillant, Minister (Commercial) of Embassy of Canada said that Each year, representatives from the elderly care industry from around the world gather in Beijing for the China International Senior Services Expo (CISSE). This has promoted the cooperation between Canada and China in many areas, brought Canadian experience and technology into China, and made contributions to further improving the quality of life of Chinese older persons. It is looked forward that  extensive exchanges and cooperation would be conducted between Canadian delegation companies and their Chinese counterparts.

Guo Hanqiao, Vice Director of Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau extended warm congratulations to the opening of the 9th CISSE on behalf of the Social Work Committee of Beijing Municipal CPC Committee and Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau. He said that CISSE has been held for 8 sessions, and become a brand exhibition for domestic and international elderly service industry.The fair provides an important platform for the domestic and international elderly services industry to showcase the latest theoretical and practical achievements, share advanced experiences in elderly services and promote exchanges and cooperation in elderly services, and is an important bolster for the high-quality development of the elderly services industry. CISSE and CASWSS has put forward proposals for the construction of the elderly service system in Beijing, providing strong intellectual support and information services. More social forces have been attracted into the facility construction, product R&D as well as service supply in the elderly service sector, further tapping the vitality of the market and the society.

Zheng Gongchen, Vice Chairman of China Democratic League and President of China Association of Social Security, Wu Yushao, Former Vice Director of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging and Vice Director of the Fudan Institute on Ageing, Xu Jianzhong, Former 1st-Level Counsel of Department of Social Affairs of Ministry of Civil Affairs, He Ni, Vice Director of Elderly Service Promotion Division of Elderly Service Department of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Gao Chundong, Director General of Bureau of Administrative Management of Chinese Academy on Sciences, Dai Bin, Director of Data Center of Ministry of Culture and Tourism and President of China Tourism Academy, Dong Pu, Director General of Department of Civil Affairs of Heilongjiang Province, Li Zhiyuan, Director General of Department of Civil Affairs of Shaanxi Province, Jiang Wenling, Director General of Department of Civil Affairs of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Liu Zhenguo, Director General of Civil Affairs Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Zhang Chi, Vice Director General of Department of Civil Affairs of Jilin Province, Cheng Hongliang, Vice Director General of Department of Civil Affairs of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Chen Yuebin, 2nd-Level Counsel of Shanghai Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, Qi Xuesen, President of China Social Welfare Foundation, Chen Yueliang, President of China Community Development Association, Gao Wu, President of China Research and Promotion of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhou Hua, Vice President and Secretary General of Chinese Health Association, Liu Fuqing, Vice President of China Charity Alliance, Romain Jacquet, Counsellor for Health, Social Affairs and Labour of the French Embassy in China, Nico Schiettekatte, Counselor for Health, Welfare and Sport of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Christopher Loan, Acting Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of Canada, Fukuda Natsuki, First Secretary of Embassy of Japan in China, Olga Tkacheva, Director of Russian Clinical and Research Center of Gerontology, Kusaba Ayumi, Vice Director of Japanese External Trade Organization，Yang Li, Trade Representative of Embassy of Iceland, Wang Wen, Senior Trade Officer of Swiss Business Hub China of Embassy of Switzerland, Susan Jiang, Chief Representative of Welsh Government Office in Beijing, Volkmar Meinhold, CEO of F+U Sachsen gGmbH attended the fair.

Zhang Mingliang, Executive Vice President of CASWSS presided over the main forum

Zhang Mingliang, Executive Vice President of CASWSS hosted the 9th Forum on the Development of Chinese Senior Service Industry.The main forum focused on the innovative achievements of domestic and foreign elderly services and the new issues of fostering new business models of elderly services in the 14th Five-Year Plan of the country, where the heads of government departments and industry management departments from home and abroad actively offered their suggestions and ideas to promote the innovative development of elderly services. The accompanying experience exchange and sharing session will focus on the promotion of the achievements of the 100 senior care service brands, the pilot project 1+X Elderly Care Vocational Technical Grade Certificate of the Ministry of Education and the innovative model of elderly care vocational talents team building, the elderly TCM health management service model and the legal service and rights protection for the elderly, with experts, scholars and practitioners from home and abroad discussing and sharing their experiences.

Zheng Gongcheng, Vice Chairman of China Democratic League and President of China Association of Social Security delivered a speech

Romain Jacquet, Counsellor for Health, Social Affairs and Labour of French Embassy in China delivered a speech

Wu Yushao, Former Vice Director of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging and Vice Director and Professor of Fudan Institute on Aging delivered a speech

Nico Schiettekatte, Counsellor for Health, Welfare and Sport of Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands delivered a speech

Dong Pu, Director General of Department of Civil Affairs of Heilongjiang Province delivered a speech

Christopher Loan, Acting Commercial Counsellor of Embassy of Canada delivered a speech

Zheng Gongcheng, Vice Chairman of China Democratic League and President of China Association of Social Security, shared his views in the choice of path, the focusing point and the reflections on the integration of medical and elderly care for the development of Chinese elderly care industry. Romain Jacquet, Counsellor for Health, Social Affairs and Labour of French Embassy in China shared policies and services for elderly people in France. WU Yushao, Former Vice Director of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging focused on the theme of the ‘New Development Trend of Elderly Service under the Perspective of Positive Aging’, shared his opinions around five aspects including the development trend of elderly service in the new era, the philosophy of positive aging, healthy aging, displaying older persons’ value, and the governance of the elder society. Nico Schiettekatte, Counselor for Health, Welfare and Sport at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing introduced the practical experiences of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on how the health system and policy stimulate innovation in elderly care (R&D) with models, technology and products. Dong Pu, Director General of the Department of Civil Affairs of Heilongjiang Province introduced five advantages of tourism rehabilitation in Heilongjiang Province with the theme of Joy in Longjiang-Tourism, Rehabilitation, Elderly Care—Older People’s Destination of Happiness outside Home. Christopher Loan, Acting Commercial Counsellor of Embassy of Canada shared the latest achievements and experience in innovation in the China-Canada Healthy Aging sector. Chen Yuebin, 2nd-Level Counsel of Shanghai Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau introduced the work practices of Shanghai to promote innovative development of elderly care with the theme of ‘Top Level Design, Underlying Logic and Grassroots Practice for Big City Elderly Care. Olga Tkacheva, Director of Russian Clinical and Research Center of Gerontology shared medicine of aging in the Russian Federation.

During the expo, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, Beijing TV, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, China Social News, Xinjing News, China Labour Security News, Beijing Daily, Beijing Youth Daily, Beijing Community News, Public Welfare Times, China Senior News, Charity and Public Welfare News, People.cn, ChinaDaily.com.cn, China.com, Baidu.com, The People's Government of Beijing Municipality, China Civil Affairs Magazine, Welfare China Magazine and other mainstream media have been at the exhibition. They paid great attention to the innovative development of the exhibition.