China on Sunday made public a plan on special initiatives to increase consumption, as the world's second-largest economy moves to make domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth. The plan, issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, aims to vigorously boost consumption, stimulate domestic demand across the board, and increase spending power by raising earnings and reducing financial burdens. It also aims to generate effective demand through high-quality supply, improve the consumption environment to strengthen consumer willingness to spend, and address prominent constraints on consumption.
The plan, organized into eight major sections, adopts a holistic approach by simultaneously addressing factors such as income growth, service consumption quality enhancement, big-ticket consumption upgrading, and consumption environment improvement. The plan aims to promote reasonable wage growth by strengthening employment support in response to economic conditions and improving the minimum wage adjustment mechanisms. China will expand property income channels through measures to stabilize the stock market and develop more bond products suitable for individual investors. The plan calls for exploring ways to unlock the values of houses legally owned by farmers through rental arrangements, equity participation and cooperative models.
The initiative targets both traditional sectors such as housing and automobiles and emerging areas like AI-powered products, autonomous driving, and 3D printing. It also includes measures to support wage growth, expand investment options, and enhance elderly care and childcare policies. Efforts will be made to unlock the value of rural housing through rental and equity models, while financial institutions are encouraged to expand personal consumption loans under controlled risk conditions, the State Council’s report said.