Taikang Insurance Group Chairman and CEO Chen Dongsheng responds to the Daily Economic News: In the future, the elderly care sector will require large models to support chronic disease management and health management.

Daily Economic News Reporter | Zhang Rui Daily Economic News Editor | Dong Xing Sheng

From March 22 to 23, the China Development High-Level Forum 2026 Annual Conference was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Chen Dongsheng, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Taikang Insurance Group, delivered a speech at the “Opportunities and Challenges of Population Changes and Economic Growth” special seminar.

Chen Dongsheng stated, “Today, we often talk about unprecedented changes in a century, but the biggest change is that humanity has entered an era of longevity. Advances in medical science have continuously extended human lifespan. The extension of lifespan is a super trend, a linear phenomenon.”

He said that there are many predictions that in 30 or 50 years, the average lifespan may reach 100 years. The “14th Five-Year Plan” also proposed the goal of increasing the average life expectancy to 80 years. This linear growth is accelerating, increasing at an average rate of 0.32 years per year, meaning a 3-year increase every decade.

Chen Dongsheng outlined five characteristics of the era of longevity: first, low birth rate; second, low death rate; third, linear growth in population lifespan; fourth, continuous extension of average lifespan; fifth, population structure gradually shifting from a “pyramid” shape to a “bar” shape, and even to a “parasol” shape in the future.

Chen Dongsheng mentioned that entering the era of longevity, especially the demand for medical care, elderly care, rehabilitation, and nursing is enormous. Therefore, Taikang is committed to building a seamless “medical and elderly care” service system that covers the entire lifecycle, achieving accessibility and inclusiveness in elderly services. “In the past, medical services involved medical consortiums, so we are also exploring longevity care alliances—integrating institutional elderly care, community elderly care, and home elderly care to form a new network and service system.”

During the annual conference, Chen Dongsheng was interviewed on-site by the Daily Economic News reporter.

Recently, Chen Dongsheng mentioned that future investment directions are “Dual Carbon + Technology” and “Big Health + Consumption.” Taikang’s insurance funds are typical “patient capital.” Where are the biggest investment opportunities in these two areas? And what are the main risks?

In response, Chen Dongsheng said that China’s current economy shows a “K-shaped” trend, with one side reflected in technology, manufacturing, and exports, and the other in people’s livelihoods, health, and longevity. Therefore, “Big Health + Consumption” is a layout from a consumer perspective, while “Dual Carbon + Technology” falls under hard technology. In fact, all these fields are worth investing in. Especially with the advent of the longevity era, health and elderly care are major trends.

Regarding the goal in the “14th Five-Year Plan” to increase the average life expectancy to 80 years, Chen Dongsheng believes that such a goal is precisely why we should “invest in people.” The government work report this year explicitly emphasizes more investment in people, and the section on the “14th Five-Year Plan” also mentions “investing in people,” including this direction.

Talking about AI + elderly care, Chen Dongsheng said, “AI goes without saying. In the future, in elderly care, chronic disease management and health management will all require support from large models. Therefore, in the vertical fields of longevity, we have a strong advantage—possessing massive, high-quality big data.”