China introduces new policies to boost Consumption

People visit a vintage car show in north China's Tianjin, Nov. 23, 2024. [Photo by Tong Yu/China News Service]

China launched a series of consumption promotion events in five major cities in November 2024 and rolled out new policies aimed at boosting consumer spending.

The policies will shore up the debut economy, bolster the wholesale and retail industries, and support pilot projects for modern commercial circulation in 20 cities, including Shanghai and Tianjin.

The consumption promotion events kicked off on November 3, 2024, in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing, which are designated as the country's international consumption center cities. Their retail sales of consumer goods account for over 13% of the national total, with imports of consumer goods exceeding 50%.

Focusing on the debut economy, these cities will host a variety of activities related to shopping, dining and tourism, including food festivals, camping events and sporting activities, as well as exhibitions and performances. Local governments will roll out supportive measures, such as incentives for new store openings and consumer vouchers.

These events will create a synergistic effect with the new policies, delivering tangible benefits to consumers.

Stimulating consumption is a crucial component of China's strategy to support economic recovery. In 2024, the government implemented various measures to expand domestic demand, including a large-scale trade-in program for consumer goods. The program had seen 1.68 million subsidy applications for automobiles as of October 30, 2024, with the sales of household appliances reaching 24.03 million units.

Nation braces for big boom in cold-weather sports

An aerial photo shows tourists visiting the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

More than two years after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics concluded, the legacy of the Games lives on, providing a boost to China's winter sports industry with governments, business owners and experts all bullish on the sector's robust growth during the country's next five-year plan period.

With yet another major international event, the ninth Asian Winter Games, set to open in February 2025 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, this winter season is expected to witness new highs in the number of ice and snow sports activities, the revenue of related businesses and the number of tourists at skiing destinations, according to officials at a news briefing on winter sports development on November 6, 2024.

"Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the surging public demand for ice and snow sports and related leisure activities has popularized the winter sports sector, while the recent boom only indicates a consistent and even stronger growth in the next five-year development period," said Peng Fuwei, head of the social development department of the National Development and Reform Commission.

The commission, China's economic planning body, will roll out a broad package of policies together with the country's sports governing body and tourism administration, among other departments, to help grow the winter sports sector's total market value to 1.5 trillion yuan (210 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), according to an industry guideline issued by the State Council.

Citing the remaining untapped potential in cold weather sports consumption, the new guideline highlights facility development, winter sports–themed tourism, resort operations and a variety of amateur events among key areas to be further explored.

Better infrastructure support such as more highspeed railway services and domestic and international flights connecting resorts with target markets; streamlined border-entry formalities for overseas professionals, including high-level coaches, trainers and executives in the industry; and more flexible financial policies in loan approval and tax reduction for small businesses are among 24 measures tailor-made in the guideline to address pressing issues hampering winter sports development.

"The guideline kicked in right on time, providing important references for all the government departments, administrators and business owners to develop and implement their own plans accordingly," said Li Jing, a vice minister of the General Administration of Sport of China.