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Yuanyue Dang

China has vowed to increase household wealth, boost the stock and property markets and funding for artificial intelligence (AI), under a 30-point action plan to stimulate consumption released on Sunday.
The action plan was jointly released by the general office of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee, and the State Council, China’s cabinet.
The measures include some already announced by various departments and underline the urgency of boosting sentiment to consolidate economic growth.
Authorities will promote “reasonable growth of wage income”, according to a full text of the 30-point plan released by Xinhua.
This will include boosting employment and raising the minimum wage – something almost half of the country’s provincial governments did last year – as well as strictly enforcing the paid annual leave system.
The plan also pledges investment, fiscal and credit support from the government to boost consumption, while reiterating that Beijing will push for the property market to “stabilise and reverse its decline” and “take multiple measures to stabilise the stock market”.


The plan also includes a commitment to resolve the issue of settling the arrears of small and medium-sized enterprises, highlighted by Beijing for years as key to addressing the long-term grievances of private business.
The fragile outlook for jobs and income growth, a protracted property market meltdown and lack of investor confidence have had a significant impact on household spending, undermining Beijing’s hopes for an economic recovery driven by consumption.
The government should “create a stable, fair, transparent and predictable market environment”, such as by reducing inspections and “not disturbing public consumption places without reason”, the plan said.
A “childcare allowance system” is also on the cards – as China tackles a demographic crisis characterised by a rapidly ageing population and a declining birth rate – as are increased support for education, healthcare and low-income populations.
Other policies include further expanding the trade-in programme for used cars and household appliances, an initiative launched last year as part of efforts to kick-start the economy.
In addition, the new plan proposes increasing AI-related spending, “accelerating the development and application of new technologies and products such as autonomous driving, smart wearables, ultra-high-definition video, brain-computer interfaces, robotics and additive manufacturing”.
There will also be more visa-free policies to attract foreign travellers. Under the action plan, China will expand the list of countries allowed visa-free entry access to boost spending by visitors and “promote the import of high-quality lifestyle services such as healthcare, culture and entertainment”.


Officials across China have been doubling down on efforts to boost consumer spending as part of a broader strategy to achieve the 5 per cent annual growth rate set by Beijing at its recently concluded yearly parliamentary meetings.
Boosting consumption is a top priority in achieving this target, as outlined in Premier Li Qiang’s government work report presented on March 5 and at the party’s high-profile economic work conference in December.
With the stock market stalled and the property market suffering a significant downturn since the Covid-19 pandemic, wealth accumulation has slowed sharply or even shrunk among Chinese households, especially the hundreds of millions of middle-class families that form the backbone of the Chinese economy.
This has hit consumer sentiment and spending ability, causing domestic consumption to remain sluggish for more than two years.
China’s retail sales – a gauge for consumption levels – grew by only 3.5 per cent in 2024 from the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
In comparison, retail sales grew 7.2 per cent year on year in 2023, and 8 per cent in 2019 – before the pandemic hit.


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Support for household wealth, stock and property markets, AI funding and childcare in the works as China chases 5 per cent growth in 2025


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