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

Every reporter｜Zhang Rui Every editor｜Dong Xingsheng

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

Chen Dongsheng, founder, chairman, and CEO of Taikang Insurance Group, spoke at the “Opportunities and Challenges of Population Change and Economic Growth” seminar.

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

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

Chen Dongsheng elaborated on the five major characteristics of the longevity era: first, low birth rates; second, low death rates; third, linear growth of population lifespan; fourth, continuous extension of average lifespan; fifth, population structure gradually converging from a “pyramid” shape to a “column” shape, and eventually potentially presenting a “umbrella” shape in the future.

Chen Dongsheng noted that after entering the longevity era, there is a huge demand for medical care, elderly care, rehabilitation, and nursing. Therefore, Taikang is also committed to creating a seamless, full-lifecycle service system of “medical care, elderly care, and rehabilitation” to achieve accessibility and inclusiveness in elderly care services. “In the past, there were medical alliances, so we are also exploring a longevity care community, 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 a reporter from “Daily Economic News.”

Recently, Chen Dongsheng mentioned that the 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 currently in these two directions? What are the biggest risk points?

In response to this question, Chen Dongsheng stated that the current Chinese economy exhibits “K-shaped” characteristics, reflected on one hand in technology, manufacturing, and exports, and on the other hand in people’s livelihoods, health, and longevity. Therefore, “big health + consumption” is laid out from a consumption perspective, while “dual carbon + technology” falls into the category of hard technology. In fact, these areas are all worth investing in. Particularly as we enter the longevity era, health and elderly care is a major trend.

Regarding the goal of “increasing average life expectancy to 80 years” in the “14th Five-Year Plan,” Chen Dongsheng believes that such a goal necessitates “investing in people.” This year’s government work report clearly emphasizes focusing more on investing in people; the report’s section on the “14th Five-Year Plan” also mentions “investing in people,” which includes this direction.

When discussing AI + elderly care, Chen Dongsheng stated, “AI goes without saying. In the future, in the field of elderly care, chronic disease management and health management will require support from large models. Therefore, in terms of vertical large models aimed at the longevity era, we have a strong advantage—possessing vast and high-quality big data.”

Cover image source: Every Media Asset Library