Consumers shop in a department store in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province on December 22, 2021, as the province kicks off a campaign with more than 1,000 promotional activities to spur consumption over the forthcoming holidays, including the New Year's Day holiday and the Spring Festival. Photo: cnsphoto

After consumption, especially that related to snow and ice events, was boosted during the Spring Festival holiday, a new round of promotions started in many provinces as consumer spending is expected to be the most powerful driving force for China's economic growth in 2022.

Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan Province, on Sunday announced policies and measures to help private businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by reducing rents and extending the payment periods for water, natural gas and electricity.

The city will carry out monthly promotional activities to boost consumption in key areas such as vehicles, department stores, catering, home appliances, home furnishings and e-commerce, said the commerce bureau of the Zhengzhou municipal government.

Inter-provincial tourism will be promoted by offering discounted or free tickets for A-level scenic spots from next Wednesday until May 31.

Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province said on Friday that wholesale and retail enterprises with increment of retail sales reaching 80 million yuan ($12.6 million) or more on a yearly basis, or accommodation and catering enterprises with the increase of turnover reaching 20 million yuan or more, will get a one-time grant of 800,000 yuan.

For catering and accommodation enterprises with more than 10 direct chain stores that operate in the city, every new chain store will be given a subsidy of 50,000 yuan, with a limit of 500,000 yuan, per the Wenzhou municipal government.

In Beijing, catering enterprises, which actively participate in the city's consumption season, have a year-on-year growth rate that is not lower than the average growth rate of the city's catering industry in the first quarter, and have a more than 1.5 million yuan gain year-on-year, will be awarded 250,000 yuan at the highest, according to the Beijing municipal government.

These are some of the latest examples of moves by local governments to boost consumption. Central and local governments are working to take advantage of the peak holiday season and post-holiday season to promote consumption, and they have made clear the key areas and directions to promote the recovery of the consumer market in 2022.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, said on February 5 that it will guide enterprises to introduce more customized, intelligent and green products.

The NDRC will implement policies and measures to boost consumption of major items such as automobiles. It will improve the service quality of rural tourism, healthcare and elder care, and special home stay facilities, and enrich the supply of tourism products for surrounding areas, outings, and snow and ice travel. 

It will move faster to integrate county and rural e-commerce systems and express delivery systems.

Consumption will continue to contribute more to China's economic growth in 2022. There is still huge potential to be released, and consumer confidence will return to the pre-pandemic level with stronger purchasing power, Tian Yun, former vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times.

According to analysts, consumer confidence is also reflected in producers' enthusiasm. When there is a market, enterprises will actively produce to increase supply.

The development index of SMEs in China witnessed a three-month increase, according to statistics released by the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises on Sunday.

Meanwhile, many provincial and municipal investment projects started as early as January, creating more development opportunities for enterprises.