China's $7.4 billion 'loneliness industry': Why the elderly are hiring 'temporary babies'

China’s loneliness industry is creating a market for paid companionship, with the elderly hiring service providers to deliver meals, help with housework and offer emotional support. The sector has been valued at around $7.4 billion in 2025 by Sinolink Securities. BBC report, although data on its overall size remain limited.

Among the services emerging in this market are providers who regularly visit older people and help them manage their daily lives, taking on roles that may resemble those of family members. Wang Yingwei, who runs an electric scooter delivery team in Beijing, describes his workers as “children of the community”.

The business model reflects changing social dynamics in China, where labor migration, urbanization and changing lifestyles can separate people from family and traditional support networks.

Read also | Piyush Goyal on China ties: India ready to resume economic ties but…

China’s ‘temporary children’ help elderly people live independently

Yang, a 91-year-old woman living on the outskirts of Beijing, told the BBC that loneliness became particularly difficult after her husband died. She said she sometimes talked to the TV because she had no one to talk to and even considered voluntary euthanasia.

Suffering from glaucoma and deteriorating eyesight, Yang struggled with everyday tasks, including adjusting the air conditioner.

Her circumstances improved after Yingwei and his team started visiting her twice a day with warm meals. Their help ranged from delivering food to solving household problems and helping her cope with everyday life.

Read also | Uday Kotak supports Chinese investment in manufacturing joint ventures in India

“We see ourselves as children of the community,” Yingwei told the BBC. “It means putting yourself in the shoes of older people and carefully considering their needs.”

He said his team helps with practical issues such as installing water filters and fixing broken shower equipment.

“Elderly people treat us like their children and we treat them like our own parents,” he added.

According to the BBC, Yingwei’s services cost less than half the price of employing a caregiver. He started the business after his father-in-law, who had developed Alzheimer’s disease, moved into a nursing home. He wanted to help other elderly people stay in their homes as long as possible.

Read also | New OTT bet: Tiger TV targets Hindi and Punjabi audience

Paid society goes beyond senior care

China’s loneliness industry is not limited to elderly people living alone. The BBC also reported on paid medical escorts who accompany clients to hospitals, collect test results and collect medication.

Twenty-three-year-old Liu Yanyan works as a medical escort in Beijing. She told the BBC that some clients are young professionals who have moved to the city and don’t have friends or feel uncomfortable asking colleagues to accompany them to meetings.

Associate Professor Teresa Kuan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong told the BBC that paid company can offer people a more predictable relationship than friendship.

“If there’s a companion you’ve paid for, the relationship isn’t quite equal. It’s a service relationship, so you don’t have to deal with the unpredictability of a standard relationship. The thing about friendship is that it can be unpredictable. You don’t know when someone might let you down. But in a service relationship, you have a better idea of what to expect.”

The rise of these businesses illustrates how social isolation creates demand for services based on connecting people. For older people like Yang, paid company can provide both practical help and emotional reassurance.