Wang Yingyao has a lot on her mind. At 26, Wang lives in Beijing, works for an international energy company and is preparing to leave for the United States this fall to begin her Ph.D. in sociology at Yale University. In planning for her future, Wang sometimes thinks about her parents, who, in their 50s, live 14 hours away in the city of Haining.
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“A social safety net has to be established,” says Wei Li, a professor of economics at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing.
Indeed, China has new initiatives, including social security coverage for employees of privately owned companies and an experimental health care insurance system that now covers nearly 40 million retirees. The government has also built more than 32,000 senior centers, which provide health care and day care for more than 30 million people.
“But the question is, is this enough?” says Li.
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