BEIJING -- China will improve the healthcare system for the country's senior citizens, according to a reform plan on the medical and healthcare system issued by the General Office of the State Council.

China's elderly healthcare system faces severe challenges due to the fast-growing elderly population.

It is challenging for the current elderly healthcare system to match the increasingly diverse and multi-level needs of the aging society, said Liu Yuanli, director of Chinese Aging Well Association.

An improved and sound system of health services for elderly will help build a friendly environment for senior people and provide a better living quality for senior citizens and their families, Liu said.

At the end of 2018, China had a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, making up 17.9 percent of the total population.