China to tap into consumption potential

The State Council released a circular on April 25 aimed at facilitating the recovery of consumption.

The circular called for in-depth implementation of tax and fee cuts to support the manufacturing sector, micro and small-sized enterprises and the self-employed, and financial institutions will be guided to optimize credit management to give financing support to industries and enterprises severely affected by the pandemic.

Supplies of consumer goods and their prices will be stabilized. To that end, a batch of multifunctional suburban warehouse bases will be scientifically established in all big and medium-sized cities to ensure dispatch of daily supplies and unobstructed circulation of consumer goods.

To meet the requirements of regular epidemic prevention and control, new types of consumption will be promoted with integrated online and offline consumption.

The circular also called for efforts to stabilize consumption fundamentals, with particular support to consumption in physical products, healthcare, elderly care, and daycare services, culture and tourism, and townships and counties.

The government will also push forward healthy and constant development of consumption platforms. More work will be done to set up a group of regional consumption centers, improve the infrastructure and service environment as well as enhance circulation efficiency and consumption capacity. A slew of consumption-themed fairs and expositions should be well-organized .

To improve circulation of consumer goods, the government will further improve e-commerce and logistics systems, strengthen trans-regional connection of epidemic prevention and control measures, keep logistics channels unblocked, and expedite the establishment of a reliable and efficient globe-spanning logistics network.

The wages and consumption capacity of the people should be enhanced, especially the urban wage-earning class and migrant workers.

In addition, the government will create a safe and credit-worthy consumption environment, abolish consumption restriction barriers, upgrade the quality system of consumer goods, carry out fair competition policies and further reduce tariffs on premium consumer goods in great demand.