China is launching a big new plan to get its citizens spending more money. From 2026 to 2030, the government wants to fix a major problem where factories are making too many things but people aren’t buying enough of them. Officials say this gap is one of the biggest challenges the country faces right now. They want to shift the focus away from just making goods and toward providing more services for people.
This new move is happening because the economy is starting to slow down. While China is still great at making and exporting products, the people living there are being very careful with their money. Last year, the economy grew by 5%, which hit the government’s goal, but the last few months of the year were much slower. Experts are worried that this growth won’t last if people don’t start shopping and spending more at home.
The numbers show just how big the gap has become. Industrial production grew much faster than retail sales last year. This means warehouses are filling up with products that nobody is taking home. To help out, the government is offering to help pay the interest on loans for people who want to buy things or for small businesses that need to upgrade their tools. They are even putting billions of dollars into a program to support private investments.
For a long time, the government helped people trade in their old cars and appliances for new ones. They will keep doing that, but now they really want to focus on the services industry. They believe there is a lot of room to grow in areas like healthcare, elder care, and travel. They want these types of businesses to become the new engine that keeps the economy moving forward.
Many economists think these small steps are good, but they believe even bigger changes are needed. They say China needs to stop relying so much on selling things to other countries and start relying more on its own people. With global trade becoming more difficult and the housing market still struggling, the next few years will be a major test for this new plan.
