China to enhance consumption capacity, increase urban and rural residents' income

China will enhance consumption capacity and increase urban and rural residents' income on the basis of promoting economic growth and improving productivity, so as to ensure that consumers have more money to spend, Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, said on Sunday, according to a report by the China Central Television (CCTV).

He made the remarks at this year's China Development Forum (CDF), which opened in Beijing on Sunday under the theme "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy." Han is also director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group.

Overall, China will adopt a comprehensive approach to expand consumption, continuously fostering a mutually reinforcing and complementary dynamic between high-quality development and a high-quality life, according to Han.

Other measures include optimizing the income distribution structure, and raising the share of residents' income in national income, Han said, while stressing that efforts will also be made to expand service consumption, the CCTV report noted. 

During the address, Han also elaborated on the key areas for expanding consumption. He noted that China will actively develop the "debut economy," or consumption driven by product launches, flagship store openings, new service rollouts, and the creation of innovative business models and technologies, as well as health economy, ice and snow economy, and silver economy, according to the report.

The country will promote cultural and tourism industry as a major pillar industry, and create more high-quality service consumption products and scenarios, so that Chinese consumers could access to a variety of mid- to high-end services, Han said.

Observers said that Han's remarks sent a strong signal on the Chinese policymakers' determination to make consumption a key driver of economic growth.

This year's Government Work Report has positioned "vigorously boosting consumption and investment returns and stimulating domestic demand across the board" as a top priority. China should move faster to address inadequate domestic demand, particularly insufficient consumption, and make domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth, according to the Government Work Report.

On March 16, China made public a plan on special initiatives to boost consumption. The plan aims to vigorously boost consumption, stimulate domestic demand across the board, and increase spending power by increasing earnings and reducing financial burdens.

In the first two months, retail sales of consumer goods - a major indicator of the country's consumption strength - climbed 4 percent year-on-year, 0.5 percentage points higher than the same period in 2024.