I read it more as a statement that they don't want to implement it too soon.  They have a valid point about the elderly population who probably aren't ready for a cashless society to be thrust upon them--and I don't think it should be, not in China and not in any country.  I think it's a good move on the Chinese government's part to make the decision they did.

For better or worse, a cashless world is coming.  Such a thing would have been unheard of in the 1800s, and boy how times have changed.  I worry about power outages, loss of smartphones, hacking, too much trust in banks, and a few other things when I envision cashlessness.  People do love paying for things with plastic and with their smartphones, but I don't think cash should ever be made obsolete.

Yeah, that's the big problem.  They're not ready for this yet and shouldn't be forced to abandon cash.  I don't see the need to rush the adoption of a cashless society.  As I said, it's a good move by China.