Ambivalent state commitment to long-term care provision in China

Faced with the unprecedented challenges of rapidly ageing, long-term care (LTC) has become a focal point of social policy in China, with a national strategy for LTC provision introduced in 2016. However, there is little understanding of the extent to which the centre is committed to its implementation, with much of the literature focusing on diverse local practices. This is a prominent gap in policy analysis given the politically centralised nature of the Chinese polity, which makes central intervention crucial to understanding Chinese policy, including LTC. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining state commitment to LTC from the perspective of those implementing the national LTC strategy. Using subjective data from interviews with central and local government officials, researchers, and service providers involved in LTC policy, this paper argues that, despite growing attention to LTC, state commitment is too conditional to prioritise LTC in the ageing policy system. This ambivalent commitment underlies how the national LTC strategy is operationalised across China, leaving considerable room for discretion in the choice of LTC arrangements.