Decoding the New Silver Economy Policy— Insights from Yikang Medical

How the New Policies Will Reshape the Rehabilitation Industry Landscape

In January 2026, eight departments, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, jointly issued the "Several Measures on Cultivating Elderly Care Service Entities and Promoting the Development of the Silver Economy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Several Measures"). The Measures outlined 14 specific initiatives across five areas: brand building, market-oriented supply and demand matching, and technology-enabled elderly care. The rehabilitation industry received a double boost: the policy not only included intelligent rehabilitation aids in the list of "fashionable and trendy" elderly care products, but also, for the first time in a national-level elderly care document, explicitly proposed " actively exploring technologies such as brain-computer interfaces, exoskeleton robots, and muscle exoskeletons , " providing a clear path for the industry to move from "assisted support" to "technology-driven" development.

As a high-tech enterprise in the field of intelligent rehabilitation robots, Yikang Medical believes that this policy not only releases market opportunities, but also signals a systemic upgrade of the industry's role.

01
Policy Highlights:
The rehabilitation field is receiving multiple precision support

This policy breaks away from the traditional framework of "universal incentives" and provides specific support in three aspects: technology, market, and application scenarios.

1. Cutting-edge technologies are incorporated into policy considerations.
The "Several Measures" explicitly propose to "accelerate the research and development of products such as embodied intelligent technologies and rehabilitation aids, and actively explore technologies such as brain-computer interfaces, exoskeleton robots, and muscle exoskeletons to provide technological support for the elderly with declining physical functions." It also encourages the application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing to the health monitoring and personalized services of the elderly, providing a clear technological development path for the intelligent rehabilitation industry.

2. Rehabilitation products have been included in the consumption promotion system.
Smart rehabilitation aids and daily care products have been included in the "fashionable and trendy products" promotion list, promoting the formation of a "blind selection and best selection" market mechanism and opening up a broader market space for high-quality rehabilitation products.

3. Extending services to communities and families:
Policies encourage rehabilitation service institutions to enter communities through chain operations, support the development of services such as home rehabilitation and accompanying patients to medical appointments, and promote the extension of rehabilitation services from professional institutions to the "last mile," providing a policy basis for building a three-tiered service network of "institution-community-family."

02
Industry impact:
The rehabilitation market is about to undergo structural changes

Under policy guidance, the structural upgrading of the rehabilitation industry has quietly begun:
The market environment is becoming more equitable: the policy emphasizes "creating a level playing field and ensuring that all types of business entities have equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules," which helps to break down regional barriers and clear obstacles for the development of national rehabilitation brands.
Technology-driven acceleration: From "encouraging R&D" to "supporting the application verification of intelligent elderly care equipment, rehabilitation robots and other products and technologies", the policy has opened up the key links of "laboratory-clinical-market" for rehabilitation technology companies.
Service model innovation: The construction of a three-tiered rehabilitation network of "institution-community-family" has received policy support, and the integrated service model of rehabilitation with elderly care and medical care will become a new growth point.

03
Yikang Medical:
Responding to policy guidance by implementing technology

In response to the structural opportunities brought about by the policies, Yikang Medical is advancing its pragmatic strategy in three aspects:
Accelerated technological research and development: Building on the existing intelligent rehabilitation robots, we are actively exploring application scenarios for cutting-edge technologies such as brain-computer interfaces and exoskeletons, participating in industry technology verification projects, and promoting the transformation of cutting-edge technologies from "exploration" to "usability".
Product portfolio continues to be optimized: In 2025, Yikang Medical successfully launched a series of home care products. In the future, it will continue to develop lightweight and intelligent rehabilitation equipment suitable for community and home scenarios, and actively connect with the supply and demand platform and product certification system of the silver economy.
Layered construction of service network: The construction of a three-tiered rehabilitation service network of "institution-community-family" is being promoted in an orderly manner. The accessibility of high-quality rehabilitation resources is being improved through standardized service processes and digital management platforms.

The release of these "Several Measures" marks the transition of the silver economy from conceptual advocacy to a systematic implementation phase. The policy's juxtaposition of "fashionable trendy products" and "brain-computer interfaces" precisely reveals the dual mission of the rehabilitation industry: to address functional impairments with technological strength and to reshape consumer perceptions with design expertise. Yikang Medical will leverage its accumulated expertise in intelligent rehabilitation robots, guided by policy and focused on specific scenarios, to work with industry partners to promote smarter, more accessible, and more humane rehabilitation services.