China and South Korea find a new shared bond: their rapidly ageing societies

China and South Korea have had a turbulent relationship over the past few years as they compete across a range of hi-tech industries. But the two countries now appear to be bonding over a shared challenge: their rapidly ageing societies.

The issue has featured on the agenda of several meetings between President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in recent months, with the leaders pledging to work together to deal with the economic changes being wrought by their nations’ low birth rates.

In November, following a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting, 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 – the 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 per cent growing market in both countries,” said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

South China Morning Post