Provincial government audits are coming in as China’s leadership enacts new plans to make goods cheaper, but analysts contend that higher incomes are critical to getting people to spend again.
As confidence among consumers remains suppressed, Beijing is looking to ‘stabilise big-budget consumption’ of homes and cars. Analysts, however, question how effective the new measures will be if people cannot afford to spend.
Beijing had hoped consumption could drive China’s economic recovery, but analysts question its sustainability despite more than 500 large-scale concerts and music festivals this year.
The Chinese leadership has decided to focus on ensuring stable economic growth in 2023 by prioritizing the recovery and expansion of consumption, state-run media said Friday, as the world's second-largest economy has been slowing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.