Chinas Master Plan for Stimulating Domestic Consumption in 2021

Consumption is expected to see a robust upward trend in China this year given strong domestic demand and various policy support， officials from the Ministry of Commerce said recently. The ministry will focus on the following four areas：

First， traditional consumption will be upgraded. China will facilitate the consumption of large items， such as automobiles， home appliances and furniture， support service consumption， and tap into the potential of rural areas.

Second， efforts will be made to foster new types of consumption. China will encourage enterprises to use 5G， IoT， and other information technology to help physical businesses go digital and smart.

Third， the consumer market will be further improved with a new modern commodity distribution system， which will lower logistics costs and improve business efficiency.

Fourth， a number of Chinese cities are expected to be transformed into international consumption centers. Pilot projects to renovate commercial blocks to boost urban consumption， and making goods and services for daily necessity easier to get in residential communities are high on the agenda.

China Asks Government Departments to Purchase from Small， Medium-Sized Enterprises

Recently， the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology formulated the Measures for Boosting the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Through Government Procurement， stipulating that in principle， all small-scale government procurement projects should be given to small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）.

Small-scale procurement projects are those involving goods and services worth less than RMB 2 million， or construction projects valued at less than RMB 4 million.

For procurement projects whose budgets exceed the aforementioned sum， more than 30 percent should be given to SMEs. Of the share given to SMEs， no less than 60 percent should be offered to micro and small businesses， the document said.

All the reserved procurement for SMEs should be listed separately in the government procurement budget， and the implementation should be made public.

CBDs Inject a Strong Boost into Urban Economic Development

According to the newly released Annual Report on CBD Industrial Development （2020） by Capital University of Economics and Business and Social Sciences Academic Press， Central Business Districts （CBDs） in China have performed remarkably in financial reform and innovation， and commercial real estate economy. The booming CBDs enhanced the economic resilience in urban areas， the report said.

According to the report， Shanghai Lujiazui CBD gathers the most financial resources in China； Beijings CBD boasts the largest number （126） of office buildings with a tax payment exceeding RMB 100 million； Shenzhen Futian CBD has produced the best economic benefits； and Guangzhou Tianhe CBD hosts the largest number （201） of Fortune Global 500s regional headquarters.

Meanwhile， CBDs are driven by different development momentums. Scientific and technological innovation contributes a lot to Beijing Chaoyang CBD and Shenzhen Futian CBD. Economic development contributes greatly to Shanghai Pudong CBD and Tianjin Binhai CBD， while social development is crucial to the development of Guangzhou Tianhe CBD.

Affected by the pandemic， economic growth of the CBDs initially did slow down， but solid economic foundation， strong resilience， and huge potential remain the cornerstone for their long-term sound development.