By Qin Qi
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, will roll out a set of measures to further unleash the potential of domestic demand and promote consumption recovery, said Hu Zucai, vice chairman of the NDRC at a press conference Monday.
Hu Zucai, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, attends a press conference in Beijing on March 7, 2022. [Photo by Xu Xiang/China SCIO]
Hu said that consumption has again become the top driving force for economic growth last year, as final consumption expenditure contributed to 65.4% of China's economic growth and added 5.3 percentage points to GDP growth. Retail sales of consumer goods hit 44.1 trillion yuan (US$ 6.98 trillion) in 2021, up by 12.5% year on year.
But Hu also acknowledged weak recovery in some consumption sectors, citing domestic travel as an example. Domestic tourism revenue and the number of tourists last year were both a little over half of the 2019 numbers, according to Hu.
The NDRC will comprehensively strengthen employment policies to increase people's income, so as to drive consumer spending, Hu said. The NDRC will also make efforts to improve social security, optimize income distribution structure, increase the income of the middle-low income group, and further expand the middle-income group.
The NDRC also aims to foster new consumption growth points, actively promoting online consumption and new business patterns represented by smart retail, smart tourism, and digital culture, Hu said.
Riding the momentum of the recently concluded Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the NDRC will continuously promote industries related to ice and snow sports, the official said.
Hu said that the NDRC plans to promote consumption for elderly services and encourage the research and development of elderly-friendly technologies and products.
The NDRC will also step up efforts to build a safe consumption environment, promote the construction of international commercial centers, improve consumption infrastructure construction, and strengthen the protection of consumer rights, Hu said.
