China issues plan to boost household consumption

BEIJING — China has issued a set of directives aimed at boosting household consumption, a weakness weighing on growth in the world's second-largest economy, with the plan targeting sectors including child and elder care, and food and beverage.

Leaders including President Xi Jinping pledged last month to help boost domestic consumption and ease pressure on China's ailing property sector, following a gathering of the ruling Communist Party's top brass.

The State Council, China's cabinet, published a list of 20 general directives on its website on Saturday evening, constituting a general roadmap for ministries and local authorities as the economy recovers after the lifting of strict pandemic measures at the end of 2022 that had hindered growth.

The plan, which does not include proposed budgets, urges authorities to "increase the supply of care services for the elderly", a sector with growth potential in a country with an ageing population.

It also calls for the development of childcare services, as fewer young people opt to have babies due to the high cost of education and lack of social benefits.

Income tax reductions are also planned to offset the cost of caring for children under three and senior citizens, according to the document.

Beijing also pledged to ensure that eligible small businesses in the service sector can benefit from greater financial support, particularly from banks.

The plan calls for more food-themed festivals to be held, and for the promotion of street food "snacks" — popular with locals — as well as pledges to encourage major foreign companies in the food and beverage industry to open their first outlets in China.

China is aiming for GDP growth of "around 5 per cent" this year, but second-quarter growth slowed sharply to 4.7 per cent year-on-year, according to official figures published last month.

Its growth has been battered by a long-running debt crisis in the property market, which accounts for a quarter of gross domestic product.