MNI BRIEF: China To Boost Consumer Spending, New Industries

China will aim to expand consumer demand and quicken the development of emerging industries to help offset the property slowdown and rising trade tensions, said Han Wenxiu, deputy director in charge of routine work at the Office of Central Financial and Economic Affair Commission in a press conference on Friday.

“China is a big economy with great potential in domestic demand and internal circulation,” said Han, “We can ensure stable and long-term growth as long as we run our own affairs well.”

Authorities will stabilise the property market by ensuring the delivery of unfinished housing projects, revitalising housing and land stocks, as well as accelerating the establishment of a new real-estate development model which eliminates the past shortcoming of high leverage, said Han. “There is still considerable room for high-quality development of real estate with the country’s urbanisation ongoing,” he added. (See MNI EM: Big Price Cuts Needed To Lure China Homebuyers-Advisors)

To cultivate new growth engines, China will lay out future industries and promote the development of high-end, intelligent and green manufacturing, Han added.