Shanghai residents enjoy shopping spree ahead of Spring Festival Photo: Chen Xia/GT

 
Different cities in China are mapping a new round of consumer spending promotions following the Spring Festival, in a bid to bolster more consumer activity as the foundation of economic growth.

Officials from the department of commerce of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said on Friday that beginning in March this year, more than 100 companies will carry out one month-long promotions both on and offline across 14 prefectures in Xinjiang, providing consumer subsidies worth 80 million yuan targeting various electrical appliances, local products and automotive refined oil. 

In addition, Xinjiang will also hold agricultural product promotions other provinces such as in South China's Hainan Province and East China's Fujian Province.
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Xinjiang is not alone. The Beijing government said on Thursday that it will also launch a so-called consumption season from Tuesday which will cover sectors such as fashion, catering and culture, and some key shopping areas will be the targeted places. 

The consumption season's promotions will last until the end of the year, local officials said.

Those cities' promotions are in line with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)'s earlier efforts, which the ministry said that they will continue to carry out promotion activities across the country to stabilize market expectations and boost consumer confidence.

Thirty-one supportive measures were announced on February 18 to shore up catering, retail, tourism, rail, road transportation in addition to civil aviation, the five industries have borne the brunt of the pandemic's economic damage, and are also major sources of employment.

Those measures were part of 61 policies announced as the government seeks to shore up consumption, a weak point in the Chinese economy and a factor that could drag down growth in the vital first quarter.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc across the globe, China's consumption market, the second largest in the world as of 2020, continued its vibrant expansion this year with more new trends.

Data from MOFCOM showed that domestic consumption in 2021 gradually recovered, and the total retail sales of consumer goods for the year were 44.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.5 percent.

The contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 65.4 percent, which means the consumption has become the first driving force of economic growth, MOFCOM said. 

As the economy gradually becomes even stronger, the Chinese consumption market is generating new opportunities created by emerging trends related to product upgrade, new selling channels and the detailed division of consumer groups.

Xu Xingfeng, an official with the MOFCOM's department of market operation and consumption promotion, said that China's consumer market would maintain its trajectory toward recovery in 2022.

Moreover, the country's middle-income population is constantly increasing, while residents' incomes are rising. In 2021, China's per capita GDP surpassed $12,000, while per capita disposable income jumped 9.1 percent year-on-year to 35,000 yuan ($5,531.76), laying the foundation for more vibrant consumer activity, according to Xu.

However, striking a balance between epidemic control measures and economic growth remains a challenge face by authorities, Tian Yun, a Beijing-based economist told the Global Times on Friday.