“Boosting consumption is the key. We must adopt targeted measures to smooth economic circulation.” Plenary meetings are often convened to signal the central government’s policy intentions and enforce key strategies.
They are attended by all members of the cabinet while the more frequent executive meetings are usually attended by senior officials involved in a specific agenda. In addition to Li, those attending the meeting included vice-premiers Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong, all of the state councillors as well as ministers such as National Development and Reform Commission chairman Zheng Shanjie. 15:12 Chinese consumers are tightening their belts: What does that mean for the rest of the world? Two days earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that government incentives to spur domestic spending through equipment and home appliance upgrades had not yielded desired results.
The country also continues to be in the grip of a property slump and various external challenges, such as trade barriers on Chinese companies by the United States and its allies. Li said his cabinet would have to tailor policies to “give full play to tapping potential consumption”, and China must explore new areas to boost foreign trade growth such as “green trade” and cross-border e-commerce. To encourage private investment, the authorities will broaden the use of local government special bonds in project funding, cut red tape preventing privat.