China outlines plans to boost consumer spending amid Trump’s tariff war

Beijing, March 17: Chinese government officials on Monday outlined steps they are taking to try to boost domestic demand by getting consumers to spend more as a tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump threatens to curb the country’s exports.
The central bank will study creating new tools to increase low-cost funding for important consumption areas, said Che Shiyi from the People’s Bank of China, the central bank. On the spending side, the government has already provided a first tranche of 81 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) to local governments in January for a rebate program to boost auto and appliance sales, announced Li Chunlin, the vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission.
The officials spoke at a news conference one day after the government, together with the ruling Communist Party, released a multi-faceted plan to try to boost consumer spending. The moves seemed designed to demonstrate that the government is committed to reviving a sluggish economy.
“While there are few new details on how the government will increase spending, the details of the plan show a greater determination to tackle China’s consumption problem this year,” Lynn Song of ING bank said. (AP)