BEIJING — More than 30 percent of Beijing residents will be senior citizens by 2035, indicating greater urgency for the Chinese capital to get prepared for population aging, according to an official document.

The elderly population will nearly double to approach 7 million in Beijing in 2035, according to a development plan issued by the municipal working committee on aging.

The number of Beijing residents was 21.9 million by the end of 2020, with about 19.6 percent being 60 years old or above, indicating a mildly aging society, it noted.

It speculates that by 2025, Beijing will become a moderately aging society with the proportion of senior citizens reaching 24 percent.

The average life expectancy of Beijing's residents has surpassed 82 years, necessitating increasing demand for elderly care services.

According to the plan, by 2025, Beijing will build and put into operation 280 township-level elderly care centers and no less than 1,200 stations providing community-based elderly care services. It will further fine-tune relevant policies, systems and explore more options to better serve senior residents.