An official in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing has called on Chinese cadres to lead by example in boosting consumption, as Beijing counts on domestic demand to offset external shocks when Donald Trump assumes the US presidency for a second time.
“We must lead in consumption, promote consumption and guide consumption,” Gao Hongbo, party secretary of Chongqing’s Rongchang district, said at its economic work meeting on Monday, according to a video released on the district’s official social media account.
“I hope everyone here buys a new set of clothes before the Lunar New Year – not just for yourself, but also for your family members and children.”
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He also encouraged officials to dine out with their families on weekends, citing the district’s average restaurant bill for such occasions of 60 to 100 yuan (US$8.18 to US$13.64) a head.
“If 10,000 people do this, it could generate 1 million yuan in revenue for small business owners [in the catering sector] in a week,” Gao said.
His call comes as Beijing steps up efforts to boost consumption, a top priority on this year’s economic agenda, as reviving the country’s sluggish domestic demand has become more urgent amid renewed tariff threats from Trump, who will take office on January 20.
The National Development and Reform Commission – China’s top economic planning agency – and the Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday an expansion of a trade-in scheme to include four more home appliance categories: microwave ovens, dishwashers, rice cookers and water purifiers.
And under a renewed programme, consumers buying new mobile phones, tablets or smartwatches priced below 6,000 yuan will be eligible for a subsidy of up to 15 per cent. Each consumer can receive a subsidy for one item per category, capped at 500 yuan per item.
According to the authorities, the central government has allocated 81 billion yuan for the consumer goods trade-in programme this year to support its continuation across the country.
NDRC head Zheng Shanjie wrote in an article for the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily that the commission will “launch targeted actions to boost consumption” in the year ahead.
“We will work on increasing people’s incomes, reducing their burdens, enriching supply, easing restrictions and improving the consumption environment,” Zheng said.
“[We aim to] integrate efforts to promote consumption with improving livelihoods, driving growth in the quantity, quality and efficiency of consumption.”
Gao, the Chongqing official, also called on businesses to raise wages for their employees.
“Our workers are diligent and hardworking,” he said. “We hope that social organisations and private enterprises can ... within their means, offer higher salaries or bonuses to employees during the Lunar New Year.”
Bloomberg reported last month that China has raised the basic salaries of many government employees by at least 500 yuan a month to stimulate consumption.
More from South China Morning Post:
- China’s premier tells local authorities to give economy early boost in new year
- China’s finance ministry vows measures to boost consumption and investment next year
- China’s small businesses gasp for air as consumption slump deepens
- China’s November consumption misses estimate, adds urgency to stimulus
- China expands consumer subsidies, but can it ‘save the day’ for economic growth in 2024?
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