China's Ministry of Commerce and six other government departments have jointly issued a new implementation plan aimed at expanding and upgrading commodity consumption, with the document released on August 31.

The plan outlines an ambitious goal for the country to achieve total retail sales of consumer goods of approximately 60 trillion yuan by 2030. By that time, China also aims to cultivate green consumption, smart consumption, and health-related consumption into ten-trillion-yuan markets, driving sustained growth in these sectors. Meanwhile, retail sales in trillion-yuan categories such as automobiles, home appliances, communication equipment, and textiles and apparel are expected to continue rising, keeping the nation's market size at the forefront globally.

Four key tasks were highlighted in the plan to boost commodity consumption. First, the promotion of durable goods consumption involves deepening pilot reforms in the automobile distribution and consumption sector, innovating vehicle usage management models, and expanding automobile consumption across the entire supply chain. The plan also calls for accelerating the adoption of smart home applications.

Second, the steady improvement of daily necessities consumption focuses on enhancing the quality of food, beverages, textiles, apparel, and cultural and sporting goods. This includes strengthening the supply of green and high-quality agricultural products, raising tea beverage standards and quality, cultivating world-class tea brands, and developing designer brands and regional brands with ethnic characteristics. The overarching goal is to foster world-class labels and boost the international influence of Chinese fashion.

Third, supporting the consumption of specialty products places emphasis on catering to both the elderly and young children by backing products designed for the silver economy and infants and toddlers. Simultaneously, the plan promotes spending on trendy domestic products, high-quality export-oriented goods, and premium international items.

Fourth, nurturing upgraded commodity consumption aligns with evolving consumer demands by encouraging the purchase of green, smart, and health-oriented products. As part of this, the plan proposes establishing a national pilot base for AI applications in the consumer sector, improving research and development mechanisms for artificial intelligence products, and bringing to market a range of internationally leading smart consumer goods with substantial growth potential.