An elderly calligrapher writes Spring Festival couplets for neighborhoods at Yangluo Street in Wuhan, Hubei Province, on Dec. 19, 2025. Photo: IC PHOTO

At present, actively coping with population aging has been elevated to the level of a national strategy in China, and the country’s understanding of aging-related challenges is entering a new phase. The effective implementation of this strategy depends not only on institutional design and resource allocation, but also on the formation of strong social consensus. Yet a persistent misconception in the governance of an aging society places excessive emphasis on governance while overlooking consensus-building, thus weakening policy communication, deepening intergenerational perceptual divides, and blurring the allocation of elderly care responsibilities. Grounded in China’s cultural tradition of “family–state isomorphism,” consensus-building—across policy understanding, value identification, and responsibility coordination—through public communication is essential for translating the national strategy of actively coping with population aging into concrete action.

Consensus as cornerstone of governance

Consensus refers to the shared understanding, value identification, and commitment to action among members of society on specific issues, providing both a cognitive foundation and a normative framework for collaborative governance among diverse stakeholders. Over the course of China’s development, the implications of consensus have evolved from cultural consciousness to institutional construction, and from traditional ethical identification to modern governance coordination, while remaining consistently linked to the effectiveness of state governance. In traditional society, consensus was largely cultivated through the transmission of culture and ethics. For instance, the principle of “governing the world through filial piety” elevated family-based filial ethics to a philosophy of state governance, forming an ethical framework of “family–state integration.”

In the context of the national strategy of actively coping with population aging, consensus encompasses three progressive dimensions. First, cognitive consensus on national conditions refers to a rational understanding of the defining features of population aging in China—its large scale, rapid pace, and “aging before affluence”—as well as the broader policy context, including measures such as delayed retirement and long-term care insurance. Second, value consensus on concepts involves embracing the concept of “positive aging,” moving beyond narratives that portray older adults as “burdens” and instead recognizing their value in social participation. Third, behavioral consensus on responsibility clarifies the boundaries of elderly care responsibilities among the government, the market, society, and families, fostering a governance ecosystem characterized by multistakeholder shared responsibility and coordinated efficiency enhancement. These three dimensions reinforce one another, collectively constituting the intellectual foundation for implementing the national strategy.

Challenges in building consensus on aging

In the governance of an aging society, divergences between institutional rationality and public perception result in weak consensus, hindering the implementation of the national strategy.

First, inefficient policy communication contributes to public misperception. Over the past decade, governments at all levels have issued nearly 2,800 aging-related policies across 12 domains, including elderly care and healthcare, but policy communication continues to suffer from “failure in discourse translation” and “detachment from national conditions.”

Second, insufficient value identification with the concept of “positive aging” has given rise to intergenerational cognitive conflicts. Older adults’ participation in employment and community activities is sometimes criticized as “competing with younger generations for resources,” while residence in elderly care facilities is misinterpreted as “living a lonely and sad old age.” Such misperceptions impede the development of the silver economy and hinder efforts to view older adults as valuable human resources.

Third, inadequate consensus on the responsibility model of “family–state collaboration” leads to polarized public discourse on aging and elderly care issues. Under the traditional model of “family–state isomorphism,” the family and the state complemented each other in assuming elderly care responsibilities. Yet, amid the shift toward the nuclear family during social transformation, traditional ethics of responsibility have weakened. Public perceptions are now divided: Some cling to the belief in “raising children for old age,” while others rely excessively on the government as a safety net. As a result, a modern concept of multistakeholder shared responsibility has yet to take root.

Public communication essential

Public communication serves as a core mechanism linking state governance with social consensus. A three-tiered network of “mass communication–community communication–family communication” facilitates the systematic cultivation of policy understanding, value identification, and responsibility coordination, thereby providing intellectual support for the national strategy of actively coping with population aging.

Mass communication assumes the function of policy translation and education about national conditions, and should therefore transform abstract institutional discourse into everyday narratives that resonate with the public. Mainstream media should shift from being “policy mouthpieces” to “consensus catalysts,” crafting discourse that connects with everyday life.

Community communication, as a meso-level hub, can translate the concept of “positive aging” into localized practice. Through elderly education centers and neighborhood mutual-aid organizations, older adults can be mobilized to participate in community governance and intergenerational activities, transitioning from care recipients to value creators.

Family communication, as a micro-level vehicle for implementing “family–state collaboration,” should bridge national strategy and household practice through responsibility negotiation. Younger generations can leverage their digital skills to help their parents access the national elderly care services information platform. On the platform, older adults can learn about community-based elderly care resources and apply for age-friendly adaptation subsidies, rendering policy benefits tangible. Older adults, in turn, can draw on their life experience to pass down the importance of delayed retirement for pension sustainability to their children, fostering intergenerational understanding.

Shen Qi is a professor from Fudan Institute on Aging.