More beds and personnel will be needed to look after the 7.2 million Chinese seniors -- 0.5 percent of the total population -- who hope to find a place in a nursing home.

The government intends to create a total of 1.8 million nursing home jobs to take care of them -- one staffer for every four seniors.

China currently has about 40,000 nursing homes with about 1.5 million beds for its greying population of more than 144 million. Three quarters of these nursing homes are located in townships and rural areas, according to statistics in a 2006 white paper released by the government.

According to China's 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010), a further 3 million beds are in the pipeline -- 2.2 million beds in the countryside and 800,000 in urban areas. The aim is to provide basic care for 50 percent of infirm and childless old people.

But three million new beds is still less than half what is required.

The Government has been hoping for help from the private sector. In 2000, it scrapped certain taxes in order to encourage non-governmental institutions and individuals to run non-profit service organizations for the elderly.

This has led to the development of more non-governmental nursing houses in the countryside, People's Daily reported, but not enough.

The government pledged to enhance social care for the aged, improve the social care network and revise laws and regulations to better protect elderly people's rights in its 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010).

As its population grows old, China is facing an increasing social security burden. The ratio between those in employment and retirees will reach 2.5:1 in 2020 as compared with 10:1 in 1990 and 3:1 in 2003.

At the end of 2005, people over 60 accounted for 11 percent of the Chinese population. The number rises each year, and is expected to hit 248 million by 2020 and 437 million by 2051, according to official statistics.

Source: Xinhua