China’s new industry minister looks to boost consumption and stabilise supply chains as economy slows
- Jin Zhuanglong tells a ministerial conference that greater international cooperation and technological advances to boost consumer demand should be priorities
- Economic growth is faltering as the country’s zero-Covid policies, a slumping property sector and disruption caused by the current heatwave all take their toll
Jin Zhuanglong, the new Minister for Industry and Information Technology, told a ministerial conference on Friday that boosting consumption and pushing for technological advances in key sectors should be a priority, China News Service reported.
This is the second meeting of the ministry this week to discuss methods to boost economic growth as figures for July and August show the country’s industrial production is stagnating.
China’s industrial sector is a key driver of the economy and has been a major source of investment for multinational manufacturers of products such as cars, appliances and hi-tech hardware since the 1980s.
China reported 3.5 per cent growth in industrial output between January to July compared with the same period last year. The manufacturing value added in the first six months this year took up 28.8 per cent of national output, a 1.4 per cent increase compared with last year.
On Friday Jin called for policies to enhance consumer confidence and efforts to advance consumer technology to boost spending.
“A new batch of new energy vehicles, household appliances, product trade-ins and environmentally friendly construction materials should be promoted in rural areas,” Jin said.