China unveils 5G and NEV spending action plan to boost consumption to cushion US trade war impact
- Plan would aim to boost the sales of cars, home appliances and consumer electronics including 5G smartphones after sharp drop in retail sales in April
- Restrictions on car registrations would also be relaxed after sales dropped 14.6 per cent in April from a year earlier
China has released a two-year action plan to promote the purchase of consumer goods from new energy vehicles to 5G handsets in the latest move to offset the escalating trade war with the United States that continues to hit the world’s second largest economy.
In a joint circular published on Thursday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce and the environment protection ministry vowed to promote the upgrading and recycling of cars, home appliances, consumer electronics and other products.
“We will continue to optimise the consumption environment and improve recycling to release the growth potential of domestic demand. We will further upgrade key consumer goods to promote a strong domestic market,” the plan stated.
A full-fledged trade war with the US, which would involve the US placing import levies on the remaining US$300 billion worth of Chinese products not already subject to tariffs, could knock at least 1 percentage point off China’s headline growth this year, Wang Yang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, told Taiwanese businessmen last month.