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The Ministry of Commerce of China File photo: VCG

 
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) will roll out more practical and effective measures to boost domestic consumption, with dedicated measures on bolstering both commodity and service consumption, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said at a press conference during the ongoing two sessions on Thursday. 

Wang specifically highlighted the growing potential for the expansion of service consumption. He said that China's per capita GDP exceeded $13,000 in 2024, and based on international trends, the demand for service consumption is expected to accelerate after per capita GDP exceeds $10,000. 

Meanwhile, China will further expand pilot programs of opening-up in sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, and education, promote the orderly opening-up of internet and cultural industries, and promote the comprehensive pilot demonstration for expanding the opening-up of the service industry, Wang said, adding that more high-quality services will be introduced, and supply standards will be improved.

China has been steadily expanding opening-up. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued approvals to the first batch of 13 foreign-invested enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen for pilot operations in value-added telecommunications services, the Xinhua News Agency reported on February 28.

The country will also optimize visa policies for foreign nationals, enhance the convenience of entry procedures, accommodation services, and payment systems, and cultivate international markets for education, healthcare, exhibitions, and other fields, Wang said.

As for boosting domestic service consumption, Wang said that 18 policies centered around elderly care, childcare, culture and tourism, and the ice and snow economy were issued in 2024, following the release of the guideline on boosting high-quality development of service consumption last year. 

Moving forward, Wang said that the ministry will continue to introduce supportive policies and special initiatives to expand the supply of diversified services in various sectors from healthcare to childcare while relaxing restrictions on market access, lifting restrictions and enhancing oversight. 

As for commodity consumption, Wang said that the ministry will include more product categories in the consumer goods trade-in programs, noting that the existing programs have been effective. 

As of Wednesday, the country received more than 310,000 applications for automobile scrapping and renewal subsidies in 2025 and more than 700,000 applications for automobile replacement and renewal subsidies, totaling more than 1 million, according to Wang. 
 
In addition, more than 9.4 million consumers have purchased over 12 million products in the 12 categories of home appliances, and more than 34 million consumers have applied for subsidies for purchasing more than 42 million cellphones and other digital products. 

However, Wang also noted that ‌China's domestic demand remains insufficient, with untapped consumption potential. ‌Commodity consumption‌ primarily faces constrained demand, while service consumption‌ faces a predominant challenge of inadequate high-quality supply, according to Wang.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the same conference on Thursday that the country will soon roll out a special action program to boost consumption. 

This year's Government Work Report also said that China will launch special initiatives to boost consumption in 2025, including issuing ultra-long special treasury bonds of 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) to support consumer goods trade-in programs. 

Global Times