BEIJING, May 16 -- By the end of 2023, China's more than 7,800 institutions capable of providing integrated medical and elderly care services had 2 million beds in these facilities, according to the National Health Commission on Wednesday.

The integration of medical and elderly care is an important approach for China to address its aging population.

Currently, there are four relatively mature service models in this regard, including signing agreements for cooperation between medical and elderly care institutions, medical institutions providing integrated medical and elderly care services, elderly care institutions legally providing medical and healthcare services, and extending medical and healthcare services to communities and households.

China had 280 million elderly people aged 60 and above by the end of 2022, accounting for 19.8 percent of the total population. The number of those aged 65 and above had reached 209.78 million.