Published by ChinaMNC · Honghuagang

Zunyi Enacts Home-Based Elderly Care Regulation: What Foreign Founders Operating in China Should Know

Zunyi's new Home-Based Elderly Care Regulation, effective November 1, clarifies family, government, and community responsibilities for elder care. Here is what foreign founders operating or registering companies in China should understand about the local policy environment.

Zunyi Adopts Home-Based Elderly Care Regulation

Foreign founders evaluating where to register or expand a company in China often focus on tax incentives, industrial parks, and market access. But local social policy — including how a city organizes care for its aging population — shapes the operating environment in ways that matter for businesses in healthcare, consumer services, real estate, and insurance. A recent regulatory development in Zunyi, Guizhou Province, illustrates this dynamic.

On October 20, the Zunyi Municipal Government Information Office held a press conference under its "Walking the New Path of High-Quality Development, Showcasing Zunyi's New Style" series. Officials presented the enactment and implementation of the Zunyi Municipal Home-Based Elderly Care Regulation (the "Regulation") and answered questions from reporters.

According to the press conference, the Regulation takes effect on November 1. It uses a simplified structure without chapters and contains 32 articles in total.

Four Core Questions Driving the Regulation

The Regulation is described as problem-oriented and demand-oriented. Its institutional design is built around four core questions in home-based elderly care:

• Who is responsible — the allocation of duties among families, government, and society;
• What services are provided — the scope of care delivered in home and community settings;
• How it is funded and supported — the safeguards behind service delivery;
• How it is supervised — the oversight mechanisms.

Officials characterized the Regulation as marking a new stage in which home-based elderly care in the city enters a law-based and standardized phase of development.

Demographic Pressure Behind the Policy

The press conference provided detailed demographic context. Zunyi has already entered a moderately aging society. As of the end of 2025, the city's permanent resident population reached 6.4669 million, of whom 1.4104 million were aged 60 or above — an aging rate of 21.81 percent. That is higher than the provincial average of 18.87 percent. The city expects to enter a severely aging society by 2038.

Influenced by elderly care policies, living customs, and related factors, more than 90 percent of the city's elderly residents prefer home-based care, according to the press conference.

In recent years, the municipal Party committee and government have prioritized home-based elderly care, increasing funding and accelerating the improvement of service facilities. A three-tier elderly care service network has essentially been completed.

How Responsibilities Are Allocated

Family as the Foundation

The Regulation emphasizes the foundational role of families. It specifies that the children of elderly persons and others with statutory support obligations must fulfill duties including financial support, daily care, and emotional comfort, and must attend to the physical and mental well-being of elderly people.

At the same time, the Regulation connects family responsibility with government support and social services. It encourages family members to live with elderly relatives or reside nearby, supports families in better bearing caregiving responsibilities, and aims to build a framework in which families fulfill their duties, government provides support, and society participates.

Government Coordination

The Regulation follows a model of government leadership, civil affairs coordination, departmental collaboration, and social participation. It further clarifies the division of responsibilities among municipal and county-level governments and relevant departments. It calls on departments including civil affairs, health, housing and urban-rural development, natural resources, and medical security to perform their respective duties and coordinate, forming a joint force for management and progress.

Village and Community Support

The Regulation highlights the supporting role of villages and communities. These grassroots bodies are expected to assist with registration of elderly persons' information, needs surveys, and visits and care. They are supported in using village and community elderly care facilities to provide meal assistance, bathing assistance, and other services. They are also encouraged to organize volunteer services and neighborhood mutual aid. The goal is to concentrate elderly care resources around where seniors live — nearby, around them, and at their bedside — so that older residents can access more convenient services at their doorstep.

Why This Matters for Foreign Founders

For foreign founders, local regulations like this one are useful signals about how a city is allocating public resources and what services it expects to expand. The Zunyi Regulation indicates a formalized framework for home-based care built on family duty, government coordination, and community-level service delivery.

Businesses in elderly care services, assistive products, home health support, community service platforms, or related training may find relevant context in how responsibilities are defined and how services are expected to be organized at the village and community level. Founders should note that the Regulation is a local measure specific to Zunyi, with a simplified 32-article structure and an effective date of November 1.

Foreign founders should also keep in mind that local social policy is one part of the broader compliance picture. Company registration, sector-specific licensing, and operational requirements are governed by separate national and local rules. Reading local regulations carefully — and understanding which level of government issues them — helps founders avoid assumptions based on other jurisdictions.

Key Takeaways

• Effective date: November 1, following the October 20 press conference.
• Structure: Simplified format, no chapters, 32 articles.
• Focus: Responsibility, service scope, safeguards, and supervision in home-based elderly care.
• Demographics: 6.4669 million permanent residents; 1.4104 million aged 60+; 21.81 percent aging rate; severe aging expected by 2038; over 90 percent prefer home-based care.
• Service network: A three-tier elderly care service network is essentially complete.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Call to action: Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.