CHINA on Wednesday unveiled a work plan to boost service consumption in 2025, part of the country’s efforts to unleash new drivers of domestic demand and spur economic growth. The plan, jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and eight other government departments, aims to expand the supply of consumer services, improve service quality and unlock the growth potential of the sector. The plan proposes 48 specific measures across a broad spectrum of industries, covering both main service sectors as well as new forms of business and new consumption scenarios. The measures outlined focus mainly on six areas, including policy support, promotional activities, opening up and the consumption environment. It calls for increasing the supply of quality consumer services by expanding opening up and reducing restrictions for domestic market players. Notably, the plan has also formulated special policy measures for eldercare, childcare, housekeeping and other services concerning people’s livelihood. China has identified boosting consumption as one of its major tasks for 2025 in its government work report. It has underlined the need to address inadequate domestic demand, particularly insufficient consumer spending. In recent years, service consumption has gained steam in China. Per capita service consumption expenditure in 2024 among residents rose 7.4% compared to the previous year, contributing 63% to the overall growth in per capita consumption expenditure. China has tailwinds to expand service consumption, driven by the unlocking of market potential, upgrading consumption structure and accelerating industry development. However, several challenges, such as the relatively low level of service industry openness, insufficient supply of high-quality services, and the room for improvement in consumption environment, still pose constrains on the sector’s expansion.(Xinhua) | 