China's plan on boosting consumer spending can address long-term challenges: expert

China's latest plan to boost consumer spending establishes a systematic approach to cope with long-term challenges and propel economic growth, said an expert from the Research Institute of China Galaxy Securities on Tuesday.

China on Sunday made public a plan on special initiatives to boost consumer spending, as the world's second-largest economy moves to make domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth.

The plan, organized into eight major sections, adopts a holistic approach by simultaneously addressing factors such as income growth, service sector quality enhancement, upgrading big-ticket spending, and improving the environment for consumers.

During a press conference held by the State Council on Monday, officials from six major departments, such as the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, outlined the key aspects of the plan.

He Wei, Deputy Director of the Research Institute of China Galaxy Securities, said that the measures unveiled at the press conference went beyond his expectations.

"Yesterday's press conference exceeded my expectations. The new action plan to boost consumption includes eight major initiatives and 30 key tasks, providing a systematic approach to address long-term consumption challenges. Notably, it establishes a clear link between stabilizing property and stock markets and consumption growth -- a bold strategy that reflects strong government confidence," said He.

China will launch special initiatives to boost consumer spending this year, including the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds of 300 billion yuan (about 42 billion U.S. dollars) to support the consumer goods trade-in program.

The move contributes to creating a robust safety net for short-term spending while enabling deeper structural reforms, He noted.

In addition to traditional consumer sectors, the plan also lays emphasis on emerging categories like artificial intelligence-powered products.

The country will also work to strictly implement the paid annual leave system -- ensuring that workers' rights to rest and vacation are legally protected, according to the plan.

"This year's policy mix combines direct subsidies with comprehensive supporting measures. What stands out is the emphasis on fostering new consumption formats, which will drive the development of new quality productive forces and enhance China's global industrial competitiveness. The integration of AI across industries is rapidly transforming consumption patterns and supply chains, promising significant wealth creation. However, it is crucial to address wealth distribution fairness and employment stability -- key areas for future policy refinement. The inclusion of workers' rest and leave protections in the consumer environment improvements represents progressive policymaking, showcasing the plan's human-centric approach," said the expert.

China's plan on boosting consumer spending can address long-term challenges: expert

Chinese and foreign scientists have jointly carried out a series of exchange and investigation activities this week to respond to the United Nations' initiative on glacier preservation.

The United Nations declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, accompanied by the proclamation of the 21st March of each year as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025.

A public advocacy and glacier investigation activity with the initiative of "Let the Glacier Cool" was launched at Dagu Glacier scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a key place in global glacier preservation, from Monday to Tuesday.

In 2024, the Global Glacier Loss List (GGCL) project was jointly launched by Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The project tracks recently disappeared, almost disappeared, and critically endangered glaciers worldwide. Among them, the Dagu Glacier is the only glacier in China on the list.

In this regard, Chinese and foreign glacier experts and scholars conducted in-depth investigations into the changes in Dagu Glacier during the event.

"Let China's voice be heard in the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, World Day for Glaciers, and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences. We need to awaken people's awareness of glacier changes, and everyone can reduce emissions and live a green life to slow down global warming, so that we can prolong the life of glaciers," said Li Zhongqin, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Meanwhile, the Dagu Glacier International Academic Summit Forum was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, from Sunday to Tuesday.

The forum was jointly organized by the NIEER, the Center for Glacier Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) under the CAS, and the Sichuan Dagu Glacier Administration Bureau.

More than 100 glaciologists, climate policy experts and representatives of international organizations from more than 10 countries including China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States and the United Kingdom, attended the conference online and offline, and had in-depth dialogues on the scientific challenges and international cooperation in global glacier protection.

"Because of global warming, glaciers around the world are generally melting. For example, the latest research data released last month showed that the annual loss of global glaciers, if converted into water equivalent, is 273 billion tons. The public can clearly see that the glaciers are shrinking rapidly and disappearing rapidly," said Kang Shichang, director of the IMHE.

Global experts gather in Sichuan to respond to UN glacier initiative