The consumption season kicked off on August 8 in Beijing, with live-streamed concerts and a sports consumption festival, as well as 2.8 million consumer vouchers issued by the municipal government.

People's bottled-up enthusiasm for consumption, suppressed by the novel coronavirus epidemic, is being unleashed. Measures taken by local governments to boost consumption have been well-received, but Beijing's efforts are outstanding for their magnitude.

New activities will attract more participants, while vouchers will bring more benefits to consumers and merchants, increasing consumption's contribution to economic growth.

In terms of expanding domestic demand, Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce, said at a press conference in May that consumption has been the biggest driver of economic growth for six consecutive years and will be stimulated by the development of more services. For instance, the ministry supports the development of catering across the country and greener, healthier and safer development of the sector. Another focus is the housekeeping sector, which connects rural areas with cities.

This year, many cities have launched activities to stimulate future consumption. However, some of them cannot afford to subsidize consumption due to limited financial resources. In this case, innovative activities can serve as an excellent method to make more use of what is available.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Beijing Youth Daily on August 10 

(Print Edition Title: Consumption Season)