China has unveiled its first five-year blueprint dedicated to boosting consumption, signaling a strategic shift toward making household spending a stronger engine of economic growth as the world's second-largest economy seeks to build a more resilient and demand-driven economy by 2030, experts and business executives said.
The plan, approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, and released on Monday, said China's retail sales of consumer goods were expected to reach around 60 trillion yuan ($8.85 trillion) by 2030, while the household consumption rate is set to rise markedly.
The target figure follows China's retail sales of consumer goods reaching 50.1 trillion yuan in 2025, crossing the 50-trillion-yuan mark for the first time, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Jointly formulated by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, the plan maps out key priorities for boosting consumption during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, including expanding services consumption, promoting the upgrading of goods consumption and fostering new consumption formats, models and scenarios.
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that consumption needs to play a more prominent role as a driver of growth as China pursues high-quality development.
