Tong completed her PhD in Social Policy at the University of Birmingham. Her doctoral research examined the development and financial sustainability of China’s long-term care insurance (LTCI) system in the context of rapid population ageing and evolving central–local government relations. Drawing on policy diffusion theory and a central–local government relations perspective, the research traced the institutional trajectory of LTCI pilot programmes initiated in 2016 and their nationwide expansion from 2020. Using data from the China Long-Term Care Insurance System Pilot (CLIP) 2023 database, the study conducted a comparative analysis of financing mechanisms, benefit design, disability assessment, and public–private partnerships. The findings identified a gradual shift from decentralised local experimentation towards emerging national standardisation, while also highlighting persistent challenges such as regional inequality and fiscal pressure. To assess long-term fiscal sustainability, the research applied GM (1,1) grey forecasting and cell-based projection models, demonstrating how LTCI viability is shaped by local fiscal capacity, subsidy design, and central–local redistribution.