CCTV:
Consumption is the main driving force behind economic growth. Maintaining the stability of consumption is essential to keeping the fundamentals of the economy stable. Currently, sporadic COVID-19 cases have put great pressure on consumption recovery. How do you view the present consumption situation? What measures will be taken to promote the steady recovery of consumption? Thank you.
Wang Wentao:
Thank you for your questions. As we know, consumption is the main force driving economic growth and directly reflects people's demands for a better life. As I mentioned, last year, consumption continued its steady recovery, with total annual retail sales of consumer goods rising 12.5%. In particular, the online retail sales of goods accounted for 24.5% of the total. In addition, as you may have experienced in your daily life, smart, green and health consumption all grew rapidly. Consumption returned to its place as the primary driving force behind economic growth.
However, we also noticed that there have been some problems with consumption since the fourth quarter last year. Downward pressure mounted, with the growth of consumer goods retail sales registering 4.9%, 3.9% and 1.7% in October, November and December, respectively. In general, we feel that the downward pressure on consumption is huge and we face challenges in keeping consumption stable. We will fully enforce the decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, firmly implement the strategy of boosting domestic demand, balance COVID-19 measures and consumption promotion, make every effort to advance continuous consumption recovery and upgrading, and enhance the role of consumption in economic growth. Going forward, we will do the following:
First, we will fully implement policies that boost the vitality of consumption market entities. Consumption in areas especially related to people's everyday lives and involving gatherings, such as catering, accommodation and retail, has been particularly affected by the pandemic, and these sectors have faced greater difficulties. In particular, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face great pressure on their survival. In line with the decisions of the State Council, 14 ministries jointly introduced policies to support the recovery and development of the service industry. We have released strong, targeted bail-out policies for these businesses, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Second, we will come up with innovative ideas and approaches to help consumption promotion activities achieve greater success. Last year, commerce departments at all levels organized a series of activities to promote consumption, such as the national consumption promotion month, the online shopping festival for the Chinese New Year, online shopping promotions to boost brand and quality consumption, and time-honored brand carnivals. According to our evaluation, these activities played a positive role in promoting consumption. This year, provided that the prevention and control protocols are duly observed, we will summarize the experience and continue organizing consumption promotion activities. For example, tonight we will hold the launch ceremony for the "Consumption Promotion Month 2022." In the coming period, we will hold various consumption promotion activities integrating online and offline channels, such as consumer goods expos, automobile fairs, and household consumption seasons, to keep the consumption of essential goods stable. We will also organize ice and snow-themed consumption promotion activities as the enthusiasm for winter sports is high thanks to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Third, we will continue to serve for a better life and create a consumption upgrade platform. In terms of cities, last year, we set the target of developing five international consumption center cities. After a one-year cultivation, we will summarize and improve. Meanwhile, we will continue to promote the high-quality development of pedestrian streets, build demonstration smart business districts and smart stores, and accelerate the construction of 15-minute radius community circle to facilitate people's life. We will also encourage the development of new business forms and models and new scenarios. Last year, I also mentioned that innovations had been made in many places, where featured streets, internet-famous sites, amid other sites, were built. We will support the development of "first-store economy" and "debut economy" in regions where conditions permit, promote new types of consumption such as customization, experience, intelligence, and fashion consumption, and develop green and healthy consumption to better meet people's aspirations for a better life. Thank you.
