[Economic Observation] Make a good "combination punch" to boost consumption and strengthen the "main engine" of economic growth
The popularity of outings and camping has soared, the passenger flow of popular business districts has recovered, and "cloud" fitness has led to a new trend of home life... According to media reports, the cultural tourism market has remained stable and orderly during the "May Day" holiday that has just passed, with consumption in many places The market showed a recovery trend, and various new types of consumption remained active.
Under the epidemic, the main engine of consumption, which contributes more than 60% of my country's economic growth, is still showing resilience, but it is also facing new pressures.
Since the beginning of this year, my country's consumption has generally shown a steady recovery, and the total retail sales of consumer goods in the first quarter increased by 3.3% year-on-year.
From January to February, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 6.7% year-on-year, 5 percentage points faster than that in December last year.
However, in March, affected by factors such as the epidemic, the total retail sales of consumer goods experienced the first negative growth since August 2020, down 3.5% year-on-year.
In the opinion of experts, limited consumption scenarios and weakened consumption power are the two main factors affecting consumption growth.
As an important engine of economic growth and a key link to smooth the domestic cycle, consumption has a lasting driving force for the economy and is related to ensuring and improving people's livelihood.
In the context of increasing downward pressure on the economy, how to tap and release consumption potential and play its fundamental role in economic growth has become a more important issue.
A few days ago, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a meeting, proposing to make every effort to expand domestic demand and give full play to the leading role of consumption in the economic cycle.
Previously, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Unleashing Consumption Potential and Promoting the Sustained Recovery of Consumption", and put forward 20 policy measures in 5 areas around key hot issues in the current consumption field.
Relevant policy deployments were quickly implemented, and a series of measures to stabilize and promote consumption were launched intensively in various regions.
On April 28, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province launched the largest and most extensive consumer coupon issuance activity in history, with a total investment of more than 300 million yuan; on April 29, Guangdong Province issued an announcement to provide eligible new energy vehicle consumers. The subsidy is 8,000 yuan per vehicle; on May 1, Jiangxi launched the 2022 bulk commodity consumption season. Through financial support, corporate discounts, platform concessions and other channels, various discounts have been superimposed up to 2 billion yuan... According to media statistics, since April, At least 19 provinces across the country have issued policies to boost consumption.
Sorting out relevant policies, focusing on key points, mining increments, and coordinating efforts have become the three key words for a new round of “combination punches” to boost consumption.
Focusing on key consumption areas such as automobiles and home appliances, the executive meeting of the State Council held recently required that all localities should not add new vehicle purchase restrictions, and gradually increase the vehicle increment index for those that have implemented purchase restrictions.
At present, some cities have responded positively. Guangzhou recently proposed to increase an additional 30,000 energy-saving vehicle incremental quota allocation quotas from May to June.
While expanding key consumption, various localities and departments are further exploring new consumption increments such as online consumption and green consumption.
Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, said in an interview with the media that the organic integration of online and offline consumption will be accelerated, the development of new business formats, new models and new scenarios will be encouraged, and emerging consumption such as customization, experience, intelligence, and fashion will be fostered and expanded.
Among the consumer coupons issued in various places recently, online channels have become a new important fulcrum.
In addition to the consumer market and the circulation field, financial support for personal consumption is also increasing.
According to the Statistical Report on Loan Investment of Financial Institutions recently released by the People's Bank of China, the interest rate of newly issued personal consumption loans in March dropped by 67 basis points from the beginning of the year.
The People's Bank of China said that financial institutions actively promote active personal consumption by reducing loan interest rates, which will help to further play the leading role of consumption in the economic cycle.
Many analysts believe that the new round of "combination punches" to boost consumption is highly targeted, taking into account the near and far, and comprehensive measures, which will help deal with the adverse effects of the epidemic and further release consumption potential.
At the same time, it should be noted that the impact of the epidemic on consumption is phased, and the fundamentals of my country's long-term good consumption have not changed. In the first quarter, residents' income continued to grow, and consumer goods manufacturing also maintained rapid growth.
With the implementation of a series of measures and the restoration of economic order, subsequent consumption will gradually pick up steadily.