The US Washington Hospital Management and the China Aging Development Foundation will invest US$20 billion to upgrade China's healthcare for seniors, according to an agreement signed in Beijing on Friday.

The initial investment of US$200 million will be used to set up a service center for the aging population in Shanghai. The service chain will be extended to Beijing, Qingdao, Hainan and other places.

"We will bring advanced technologies and doctors to cooperate with Chinese partners, to help Chinese old citizens grow with dignity and health," said Carl N. Johnson III, president of the Washington Hospital Management.

The China Aging Development Foundation is a non-profit organization under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

"The Chinese government encourages all efforts to improve the welfare of senior citizens, and I hope this cooperation project could help cultivate a social atmosphere for the care for old people," said Li Liguo, vice minister of civil affairs.

In China, people aged above 60 account for 11 percent of the 1.3 billion population, which puts the government under intensifying pressure to take care of the aging population.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2005)