CHINESE consumers are relatively more optimistic about the future in sharp contrast to the declining global consumer confidence, said a report published by global consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY). Approximately 60% of Chinese respondents believed their personal finances would improve in the coming year, higher than the global average of 48%, according to the latest EY Future Consumer Index report which tracks changing consumer sentiment and behaviors across global markets with 18,000 consumers worldwide surveyed. Meanwhile, 43% of Chinese consumers said their current financial situation has improved due to appropriate reductions in consumption, which is 9%age points higher than the global average, data from the report showed. As climate change and sustainable development continue to attract global attention, more consumers said they are aware of the impact of their consumption behavior on the environment and include it as one of the main factors in their consumption considerations, said the report. Data showed that 32% of the Chinese respondents said they will prioritize sustainability and the environment in buying products, higher than the global average of 26%. “Under the guidance of the ‘carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060’ goals, Chinese consumers have shown a higher awareness of sustainable development, beginning to rethink their consumption behaviors and pursuing sustainability,” said Denis Cheng, EY China consumer sector leader. China has great investment prospects, which will unleash great potential for further development, Horst Loechel, a German professor, has said. Loechel, an economics professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, said that consumption and investment from companies will be boosted as the epidemic gets over. Some leading foreign companies have voiced their commitment to expanding their investment in China recently. According to the 2022 China Business Climate Survey Report jointly released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) and PwC, around 60 percent of the surveyed companies said they made profits in China in 2021, and two-thirds of them plan to increase their investment in China this year.(Xinhua) | 