BEIJING -- China has accelerated the development of its elderly care services, with more than 8 million beds available for the elderly, a 7 percent increase from last year, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

There were 254 million people aged 60 or above in China at the end of 2019, and the number will grow to 300 million in 2025, said Li Jiheng, minister of civil affairs, at a national conference on civil affairs work on Saturday.

Boosting the development of basic elderly care services will be one of the ministry's key tasks in 2021, according to the conference.

In the next five years, the ministry will improve the overall design of the country's basic elderly care services, advance the coordinated development of home and community-based elderly care service institutions, and promote innovation at the grassroots level.