Furthermore, this is expected to grow to over 30% in the next decade, which would make the country a severely aging society according to standard demographic benchmarks. This would put China among the likes of Japan, Germany and Italy, all of which have already surpassed that figure. Policymakers have long touted the need to shift China’s economy towards domestic consumption and away from the unsustainable focus on exports. But with such a growing share of elderly, it seems that beyond the so-called silver economy—sectors such as aged care, senior learning and tourism—there is becoming less and less scope to realize this. This suggests that the focus on manufacturing and exports may well be here to stay.