Better play the role of consumption "main engine"
Economic Daily·China Economic Net reporter Yao Jin
Consumption has been the first driving force of my country's economic growth for 6 consecutive years. In the context of the current complex and severe economic situation and the apparent increase in instability and uncertainty, how to make good use of the role of consumption as the "main engine" of economic growth? The Politburo meeting of the CPC Central Committee held on July 30 called for continuous expansion of domestic demand, overcoming the impact of the epidemic, expanding final consumption, and creating conditions for the upgrading of household consumption.
In the first half of the year, affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, my country's total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 11.4% year-on-year, but the decline narrowed by 7.6 percentage points compared with the first quarter, indicating that market vitality is gradually picking up. It is worth noting that in the first half of the year, my country's e-commerce demonstrated strong vitality and resilience, and played an important role in ensuring the supply of anti-epidemic materials, helping to resume work and production, and promoting consumption recovery. From January to June, national online retail sales reached 5.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.3% year-on-year; the growth rate increased for four consecutive months, and the growth rate in June reached 18.6%.
New business formats and new models continue to emerge, creating conditions for residents to upgrade their consumption. "More and more goods and services are supplied through online channels, especially the application of new-generation information technologies such as 5G networks, which has continued to increase the penetration rate of online consumption." Zhao Ping, Director of International Trade Research Department, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Said that these changes will generate new traction on the supply side, promote changes in supply methods, increase effective supply, and facilitate a virtuous cycle between supply and demand, and promote high-quality economic development.
The income level of the residents directly represents the consumption ability of the residents. my country has a population of 1.4 billion, and the middle-income group exceeds 400 million and continues to expand. The rural market has great potential and is a strong support for the stable development of my country's consumer market. At present, my country's per capita GDP has exceeded 10,000 U.S. dollars, and the trend of consumption upgrading is further accelerated. With the cultivation and growth of new growth points and growth poles, consumption will continue to play a major role in economic growth.
How to continue to expand domestic demand and expand final consumption? Wang Jianming, Dean of the School of Business Administration of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, believes that the promotion of key groups' income should be promoted to stimulate consumption potential, and the focus should be on stabilizing and increasing residents' property income to continuously improve residents' consumption ability and increase residents' consumption expectations. We should adapt to the new round of economic development, overcome the adverse effects of the epidemic, grasp new opportunities for economic development under the epidemic, lead new supply with new consumption, stimulate new demand with new supply, and accelerate the formation of a strong domestic consumer market.
Wang Jianming said that new business formats and new models should also be used to expand final consumption. On the one hand, we will accelerate the development of new consumption methods such as live streaming and group buying, and innovate service formats and service models to meet the new needs of residents for a better life. On the other hand, use new business models and new models of supporting development policies to activate the consumer market vitality, improve the guidance policies of new business models and new models, relax market access in related fields, promote the networked and intelligent consumption of residents, and realize the precise and effective connection between supply and demand .
Consumption upgrade is a systematic project that requires various policies and system reforms, including taxation policies, urbanization policies, and national income distribution adjustment policies. "Consumption is not an isolated economic form. It cannot be separated from industry and investment. For example, it is necessary to give play to the radiation advantages of the coordinated development of east, middle and west, promote the innovation of the integrated development system of urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas, and drive investment and consumption with new urbanization. Demand drives the upgrading of residents’ consumption.” said Chen Liu, a researcher at the Yangtze River Industrial Economic Research Institute of Nanjing University.
Experts said that special measures should also be taken to stimulate consumption, promote employment, strengthen security, and further expand middle-income groups and shrink low- and middle-income groups. At the same time, more policies have been introduced to stabilize social expectations and expand employment.
Yao Jin