China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its revised first-half statistics of per capita disposable income. Shanghai’s first-half per capita disposable income topped the national list, reaching CNY40,357, and is the only region with a per capita disposable income exceeding CNY40,000. Beijing’s figure was CNY38,138, a 10.3% jump year-on-year in nominal terms. Zhejiang province ranked third with CNY30,998. Shanghai and Beijing also led per capita consumer spending nationwide in the first half at CNY23,644 and CNY21,564, respectively. Su Jian, Director of the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, noted that the distinctly higher levels of per capita disposable income in Shanghai and Beijing are the main factor driving stronger spending in the two cities. Shanghai and Beijing provide very diversified types of consumption, he said. These cities have a particularly well-developed services sector that meets various needs. Su said consumption momentum in the second half of the year will be even stronger. With vaccine rollouts globally and the world recovering from Covid-19, international travel is likely to gradually pick up in the second half, underpinning the recovery of consumption.
China is rolling out new policy incentives to boost consumption. The Ministry of Commerce announced that the four municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing, and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, will take the lead in developing international consumption center cities. Total retail sales of consumer goods rose 23% year-on-year to CNY21.2 trillion. Retail consumption contributed 61.7% to China’s GDP growth, overtaking pre-pandemic figures. Liu Xiangdong, Researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said overall, consumption made a steady recovery in the first half. Online retail sales of daily consumption goods were particularly strong, showing that online retail has become a commonly adopted new model of growth. Fang Xiaodan, a former NBS official, said household income in the first half has continued the steady growth seen in the first quarter while household consumption has accelerated, the Shanghai Daily reports.
