Published by ChinaMNC ยท Yumen
What a September 18 State Council Meeting Signals for Foreign Founders Operating in China
A practical read of the September 18 State Council executive meeting for foreign founders: aging and silver economy, sports events, rehabilitation and nursing services, traditional Chinese medicine knowledge protection, and draft amendments to 15 laws including the Emergency Response Law.
Why This Meeting Matters to Foreign Founders
On September 18, Premier Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet. According to Xinhua, the meeting heard a report on work related to aging, studied ways to promote the sound development of sports events, deployed an expansion and upgrading program for medical rehabilitation and nursing care, approved in principle the draft Regulation on the Protection of Traditional Chinese Medicine Knowledge, and discussed draft amendments to 15 laws including the Emergency Response Law. For foreign founders building or running a company in China, the meeting is not a licensing document, but it maps the policy directions that regulators and local governments are likely to act on.
Aging and the "Silver Economy"
The meeting called for a comprehensive and objective understanding of the effects of population aging and for continued implementation of the national strategy for actively responding to population aging. The practical signals for business are concentrated in services and consumption.
Service delivery channels
The government intends to keep working on elderly care services, health promotion and social security. It plans to improve the multi-tiered, multi-pillar pension insurance system, connect home-based, community-based and institutional elderly care services, and expand inclusive elderly care services.
Products and consumption scenarios
Tailored to the characteristics of older groups, the meeting called for enriching products and services for seniors, cultivating new consumption scenarios for the silver economy, and better meeting their consumption needs, with the aim of linking welfare gains with domestic demand expansion. Foreign founders in assistive products, home care, senior-friendly consumer goods, fitness and leisure for older adults, or digital services adapted for seniors should read this as a direction of policy support rather than an automatic market guarantee. Any product still needs to meet the applicable standards and registration requirements for its category.
Sports Events: Supply, Integration and Professional Operators
The meeting described sports events as important for meeting diverse public needs and improving quality of life. It set out several tasks.
- More high-quality events: increase supply and put existing venues, facilities and event resources to better use, while coordinating competitive, professional and mass-participation events.
- Cross-sector integration: link sports events with culture, tourism and commerce, speed up the use of new technologies, improve the spectator experience and amplify the overall effect.
- Management capacity: cultivate a group of professional event operation entities, improve rules for venues, personnel and organizations, and promote safe development of all types of events.
For foreign founders, the phrase about professional event operators is the most concrete. It suggests room for specialized event management, timing and scoring technology, ticketing, broadcasting, venue technology and fan experience services. Foreign participation in event operation and sports-related services should still be checked against the specific rules for the activity and the entity's registered scope.
Medical Rehabilitation and Nursing Care
The meeting deployed an expansion and upgrading program for medical rehabilitation and nursing care, with a clear emphasis on the grassroots level.
Bringing services closer to residents
Rehabilitation and nursing resources should extend toward communities and households, improving access for urban and rural residents.
Technology and approvals
The meeting called for relying on scientific and technological innovation to raise the level of medical rehabilitation and nursing, developing more intelligent rehabilitation technologies and equipment, optimizing review and approval for new technologies and products, and enriching service scenarios.
Supporting policies
It also called for dynamically adjusting the catalog of rehabilitation medical and long-term care service items, deepening price reform for medical rehabilitation and nursing services, and improving talent training policies to make the profession more attractive.
These points matter to founders in rehabilitation devices, smart care technology, home care platforms and training. They do not remove the need for product registration, clinical evaluation where applicable, or local service licensing.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Knowledge Protection
The meeting approved in principle the draft Regulation on the Protection of Traditional Chinese Medicine Knowledge. It described TCM theory, techniques and formulas as important resources for China's independent innovation and called for comprehensively strengthening protection and management of traditional TCM knowledge.
Other stated tasks include coordinating protection and use of TCM resources, deepening research on basic theory, diagnostic and treatment patterns and mechanisms of action, increasing promotion and application of traditional knowledge, and strengthening international exchange and cooperation to raise the international influence of traditional medicine. Foreign founders in TCM-related products, wellness services or research collaboration should watch the implementing rules that will follow the regulation, particularly on how traditional knowledge is protected and used.
Draft Amendments to 15 Laws
The meeting discussed and approved in principle draft amendments to 15 laws, including the Emergency Response Law, and decided to submit the drafts to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation. The source does not describe the content of the amendments. Founders should treat this as a pending legislative item and monitor the NPC process before adjusting compliance plans.
Practical Takeaways
- Track local implementation measures in elderly care, rehabilitation and nursing, since the meeting frames these as expansion programs.
- For sports-related ventures, prepare for professional operation standards covering venues, personnel and safety.
- For health technology, expect attention to review and approval pathways for new rehabilitation technologies and products.
- For TCM-related businesses, follow the formal promulgation of the regulation and its supporting rules.
- Do not assume the meeting itself changes registration, licensing or tax obligations; verify each activity against current rules.
This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.