How China is lifting consumer spending to boost its growth

Nation to focus strongly on economic policy to improve living standards

BEIJING — Vowing to make domestic demand "the main engine and anchor of economic growth", China's policymakers have sent fresh and firm signals on empowering the vast number of consumers to spend, countering skepticism about the country's shift toward a consumption-driven economy.

China will "place a stronger economic policy focus on improving living standards and boosting consumer spending", according to this year's Government Work Report submitted on March 5 to the National People's Congress, the national legislature, for deliberation.

Boosting consumption is hardly a fresh concept in the Chinese policy toolbox, and consumer spending has played an increasingly vital role in China's economy. In 2024, final consumption contributed 44.5 percent to China's economic growth, surpassing investment and exports, and drove GDP up by 2.2 percentage points.