The flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has stressed the need for economic policies to abet both supply and demand levels, amidst the global uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.
“Using new demand to spur new supply and using new supply to create new demand, can cultivate an even more active and stronger market for domestic consumption,” write Du Haitao (杜海涛) in an article entitled “Optimizing Market Supply, Strengthening the Willingness to Consume” published by the CCP’s People’s Daily on 23 March.
Du pointed in particular to the importance of driving demand for hi-tech devices and household appliances.
“Smart TV’s, smart fridges and household robots…in recent years, as household consumption has upgraded, more and more smart devices have entered our daily lives.
“Since the start of the year, sales of smart bug killers, smart washing machines, smart projectors and smart massage devices have all increased…new forms of supply comprised of new products and services have become a key foundation for stimulating market activity and driving growth in consumption.”
Du said that Chinese central government policies will seek to drive both supply and demand growth in 2022.
“China is a huge market with over 1.4 billion people, a middle-income demographic of over 400 million people, with per capita GDP of over USD$12,000 – the market space and consumption potential is very large,” he writes.
“Further strengthening the willingness of households to consume necessitates ongoing increases in income levels, optimisation of the consumption environment, and improvements to systemic guarantees.
“On the supply side, the relevant market actors must target consumption trends, strengthen innovation strength, continually optimise market supply, and increase high-quality products and services.
“[They must] drive consumption, positive production interactions, and achieve balanced supply and demand at an even higher level.”
