China’s latest plan to boost consumption is ‘most comprehensive’ since 1970s

The 30-point strategy to drive up consumer spending tackles a slew of underlying issues, from low wages to the real estate crisis

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Shoppers walk along Nanjing Road in central Shanghai. China is striving to boost consumption amid a slowing economy. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:04pm, 17 Mar 2025Updated: 7:40pm, 17 Mar 2025

China’s newly announced consumption action plan is the most comprehensive package of policies for boosting consumer spending that the country has released in over four decades, analysts said.

From increasing workers’ incomes to improving the consumption environment, the policy strategy released on Sunday covers a slew of underlying issues that will need to be addressed if China is to shift its economy onto a consumption-driven growth model.

The 30-point plan, jointly released by top organs of the Chinese government and the ruling Communist Party, for the first time draws a direct link between consumption and issues such as access to affordable childcare and the country’s long-running property crisis.

“This is the most comprehensive directive on stimulating consumption since China’s reform and opening-up [in the late 1970s],” said Shi Lei, an economics professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University. “It is unprecedented as it wraps up everything that may influence spending in a professional way.”

China is under pressure to lift domestic consumption to mitigate the impact of an intensifying trade war with the United States, which is already affecting its export sector, as the government strives to hit its economic growth target of “about 5 per cent”.

The latest plan aims to “make people more confident to spend and more stable in their expectations”, said Li Chunlin, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference on Monday.