With 249.5 million people over the age of 60 in 2018, the PR China has the largest absolute amount of elderly people in the world – a number which is growing rapidly from year to year. To support Chinese elderly at old age, the central government is eager to develop care services, either within elder care homes or in form of community and in-home services, as quickly as possible. Central government regulations and plans, however, put local governments in charge of financing and implementing development strategies at the local level. Comparatively examining Beijing and Shanghai, this talk will discuss the ways in which local governments respond to the central government pressures. Using “political steering theory” as a lens, the talk will shed light on how local governments in China simultaneously balance central guidelines and local circumstances in developing eldercare services, and what effects this has had on the eldercare service landscape.