MNI BRIEF: China Should Lift Consumption Support - Ex Adviser
China's policymakers should increase support to boost consumption and enhance public welfare rather than just focus on infrastructure investment that aren't sustainable and a key driver of growth, said Huang Yiping, economics professor at Peking University and former member of the PBOC's monetary policy committee.
Both monetary and fiscal policies should work to raise the contribution of consumption to GDP from 55% currently to about 75%, which provides powerful support to the economy as the ageing population drags on demand and as exports lose steam, he said on Friday at the 13th Caixin Summit.
Consumption is a decisive factor in China’s proposed transformation of its growth pattern and implementation of its inner-circulation strategy, which is focused on domestic demand, Huang noted.
His comments align with the PBOC’s Q3 monetary policy report, in which the central bank stressed it will push reform of the loan prime rate in a bid to lower costs for personal loans used for consumption.