Policies

New measures will be introduced to boost consumption， especially for vehicles and electrical appliances， as export demand weakens， China Daily reported.

With tax rebate policies on vehicles and appliances having expired or due to expire， “new measures are in the pipeline” to boost consumption， said Huang Hai， former assistant minister of commerce and member of the economic and trade policy consulting committee affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce.

“The Ministry of Commerce has drafted a proposal to continue the stimulus programs in the coming few years， but in different ways， and they are expected to cover vehicles and those related to real estate， say household appliances，” Huang told China Daily in an interview.

The measures may include subsidies for consumers in affordable housing to buy appliances and for those planning to change their cars.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang also said the ministry is mulling over launching new programs on expanding domestic consumption.

Huang also disclosed that under the instructions of Premier Wen Jiabao a national circulation conference， the first of its kind， will be held around April.

Government officials will discuss how to introduce concrete measures to boost consumption at the conference， he added.

More than 10 central government departments including the Ministry of Commerce， the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance， are expected to make proposals after conducting research before the conference， Huang said.

China has sought to sustain fast economic growth through boosting domestic consumption， given the fact that export growth has been declining during the past few months with demand weakening from the European Union， China’s largest trade partner.

In November 2011， the nation’s exports increased by 13.8 percent from a year earlier， the smallest gain since 2009， according to the General Administration of Customs.

The Ministry of Commerce has predicted that a slowdown in the country’s export growth could continue at least into the first quarter of 2012 with a “more severe” outlook.

“This year in China will be all about trying to ensure a soft landing，” said Jim O’Neil， chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

“Growth， under downward pressure from weakening exports and a fall in governmentsponsored investment， will have to be led by stronger personal consumption if the economy is to grow by more than 8 percent.”

It was agreed at the annual Central Economic Work Conference in December that China will be committed to expanding domestic consumption and improving people’s livelihood while trying to stabilize exports.

Since the global financial crisis in 2008， the government has launched a series of preferential polices encouraging local consumers， through subsidies， to renew or purchase household appliances and cars.

“No matter whether the nation’s economy slows down or not， China will have to change its economic growth model to consumptionoriented， rather than export- or investmentdriven，” said Lu Zhengwei， chief economist with Industrial Bank Co Ltd.

China to step up land reform this year

China is planning to launch new pilotprojects to promote land reforms this year， Xu Shaoshi， the country’s minister of land and resources， was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The ministry will summarize its experiences from previous pilot schemes， especially from those related to land acquisition， which has been an issue of wide social concern， said Xu at a national conference on land resources that closed in Beijing on Jan. 9.

The new pilots programs will cover the examination and approval of urban land use， the transferring of land under collective ownership， land management that supports economic zones， and differentiated policies on land control， according to Xu.

In China， the latest notable dispute over land use， financing and elections last year in the village of Wukan in the southern province of Guangdong led to months of largescale villager protests against local authorities.

The Ministry of Land and Resources will start pilot programs that allow local governments to build rental housing on construction land under collective ownership， drawing experiences from previous land protection and compensation trial programs， said Xu.

Figures

10%

China aims to expand its foreign trade by around 10 percent yearon-year in 2012， significantly slower than in 2011， as the country is facing a“grim situation” in terms of boosting exports， an official from the country’s top economic planning agency said on Jan. 14.

3.18t

China’s central bank said Jan. 13 that the country’s foreign exchange reserves topped 3.18 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of 2011， up from 2.85 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of 2010.

1.6t

Revenues from customs duties in China jumped 29 percent year-on-year to more than 1.61 trillion yuan ($256 billion) last year， Yu Guangzhou， chief of the General Administration of Customs said on Jan. 12.

2.45%

China’s automobile sales managed to gain 2.45 percent year-on-year to 18.50 million units last year， the slowest growth in 13 years， the China Association ofAutomobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Jan. 12.

1.7%

China’s Producer Price Index (PPI)， a main gauge of inflation at the wholesale level， rose 1.7 percent year-on-year in December， the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Jan. 12.

4.1%

China’s consumer price index (CPI)， a main gauge of inflation， rose 4.1 percent yearon-year in December， down

0.1 percentage point from November on falling non-food prices， the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Jan. 12.

$408b

China’s cross-border trade settlement in yuan under current accounts hit 2.58 trillion yuan ($408 billion) by the end of 2011 since China launched the pilot program in July 2009， official figures showed on Jan. 11.