The General Office of the State Council has recently issued a guideline on accelerating new consumption based on new business forms. It says related institutional mechanisms and policy systems will be improved within five years.

By 2025, the government will foster several demonstration cities and leading enterprises for new types of consumption. At the same time, online retail sales of physical goods will be increased, promoting new types of consumption, such as Internet Plus services.

Domestic demand is a driving force for China's economic growth, where consumption plays a vital role. New forms of consumption, such as live-streaming shopping, have achieved significant performance amid the prevention and control period of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The guideline, calling for fostering market competitiveness, cultivating new growth points, lowering tax burdens and improving the business environment, provides details for the long-term development of new consumption. 

It will help create a new development pattern where the domestic and foreign markets can boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in People.com.cn on September 23

(Print Edition Title: Boosting New Consumption)