China’s President Xi Jinping has called to speed up measures to boost domestic consumption as concerns mount that the world’s second-largest economy is falling short of growth targets.
Citing “insufficient” domestic demand, China’s leadership on Tuesday endorsed the acceleration of fiscal and monetary policies, including the use of government bonds to fund spending and stimulus programmes to upgrade industrial equipment and consumer goods.
“The focus of economic policies should shift more towards benefiting the people and promoting consumption,” the politburo, the Chinese Communist party’s senior leadership body headed by Xi, said at the conclusion of a meeting, according to state news agency Xinhua. “It is necessary to increase people’s income through multiple channels.”