To further develop Shanghai into an international consumption center and fully leverage the fundamental role of consumer spending in driving economic growth, the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government recently issued a Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption in Shanghai.

The plan consists of seven sections: six major action areas and one concluding section on support policies.

I. Income growth for urban and rural residents

1. Implementing an employment-first strategy

- Carry out employment support initiatives targeting key sectors, industries, grassroots communities, as well as small and micro business enterprises

- Optimize employment support policies for college graduates and other youth groups

- Enhance the effectiveness and match-making capabilities of public job recruitment platforms

2. Improving the quality and efficiency of skills training and education

- Launch talent development programs in key sectors such as artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, domestic services and elderly care

- Improve policies for vocational skills training subsidies

- Support development of high-level, comprehensive talent training platforms

3. Promoting rational income growth through multiple measures

- Strengthen income distribution policies that reward knowledge and technical skills

- Expand bond-related investment products suitable for individual investors

- Improve the distribution mechanism for value-added gains from collective construction land for commercial use

II. Strengthening consumption capacity and support

4. Enhancing support for childbirth and parenting

- Accelerate rollout of childcare subsidies and social insurance subsidies during maternity leave

- Expand and upgrade pediatric healthcare resources and optimize service distribution

- Promote high-quality development of a child-friendly city

5. Strengthening educational support

- Improve neighborhood schools

- Construct and upgrade a number of regular senior middle schools

- Increase the standard and coverage of financial aid and subsidies for students

6. Optimizing elderly care services

- Accelerate the senior-friendly renovation of old residential communities and home environments

- Establish mechanisms for catering enterprises to provide meal services for the elderly

- Deepen the pilot program for long-term care insurance

Note:

Long-term care insurance provides financial protection for individuals who are frail or unable to care for themselves – covering medical or custodial care services at home, in hospitals or in the elderly care institutions.

7. Improving the social security system

- Establish a sound mechanism for adjusting social security benefits

- Promote the development of enterprise annuities and personal pensions

- Innovate comprehensive assistance systems focused on service and mental well-being

III. Upgrading service consumption

8. Establishing a hub for cultural consumption

- Vigorously develop the performance economy

- Accelerate the development of a city of museums

- Improve pilot programs for incentivizing income distribution from cultural and creative product development by public cultural and heritage institutions.

9. Building a world-renowned tourist destination

- Develop a matrix of world-class theme parks

- Promote tourism themed around Red culture, Shanghai-style culture and ancient towns of Jiangnan — the region along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River

- Develop tourism resources in suburban areas, rural villages, ancient towns, famous gardens and forests

10. Developing the sports event economy

- Continuously introduce high-level international competitions

- Bring sports events into shopping areas, neighborhoods and scenic spots

- Improve supporting commercial and dining services in sports venues

11. Promoting deep integration of culture, tourism, commerce, sports and exhibitions

- Improve mechanisms for interlinking cultural, tourism, commercial, sports and exhibition activities

- Promote themed tourism models such as "travel with sports events", "travel with performances" and "travel with cultural exhibitions"

- Maximize the "ticket stub economy" by encouraging malls and scenic spots to offer discounts for holders of event or exhibition tickets

12. Encouraging spending in healthcare sector

- Expand supply of high-quality medical services

- Promote use of rehabilitation assistive devices

- Implement dedicated action plan to promote health-focused consumption

13. Enhancing the quality of lifestyle services

- Promote high-quality development of catering industry

- Establish reputable brands in domestic services

14. Supporting diversified and high-quality service offerings

- Expand openness in service sector

- Encourage enterprises to develop integrated consumption scenarios, such as "tourism+", "sports+", "health+" and "digital+"

IV. Renewing large-scale consumer goods

15. Expanding trade-in programs for consumer goods

- Implement national subsidies for scrapping and upgrading vehicles and Shanghai's own vehicle replacement subsidies

- Roll out national subsidies for household appliance trade-ins

- Increase support for green consumption in appliances, home furnishings and renovations

16. Better meeting the demand for housing consumption

- Accelerate formation of a new model for real estate development

- Continuously promote the renovation of old residential communities

- Explore improvements to housing provident fund policies

V. Fostering new forms of consumption

17. Cultivating cutting-edge digital consumption

- Build a number of "AI + consumption" scenarios

- Accelerate the development of a regulatory framework for low-altitude economy, including drones, eVTOL and air taxis

- Continuously explore application of frontier technologies in consumption

18. Expanding silver economy offerings

- Improve services for elderly lifestyles

- Encourage training institutions to offer interest-based courses tailored to seniors

- Enhance the elderly-focused tour packages and promote two-way tourism between urban and rural areas

19. Enriching "self-pleasing" consumption

- Support development of original intellectual properties

- Elevate quality of the night economy

- Encourage healthy development of the ACGN — Anime, Comics, Games and Novels — subculture economy

20. Unlocking the potential of cruise consumption

- Deepen cooperation with domestic and international cruise ports

- Create consumption scenarios both onboard and onshore

- Promote innovation in the "cruise+" business model

21. Advancing the "debut economy"

- Support leading domestic and international brands to open flagship and debut stores or host launch events

- Pilot streamlined inspections processes for first-time imported consumer goods and fast-track customs clearances for cosmetics

- Support time-honored brands in opening new or flagship stores

VI. Improving the consumption environment

22. Strengthening consumer rights protection

- Implement a three-year action plan to improve the consumption environment

- Enhance the credit system in the consumer sector

- Promote more efficient channels for consumer rights protection

23. Improving shopping center infrastructure

- Promote smart shopping areas using big data, cloud computing and blockchain technologies

- Improve themed facilities that are international-, elderly-, maternal and child- and pet-friendly

- Enhance support facilities for nighttime activities, such as transport services and temporary parking spaces

24. Building a tourist-friendly city

- Promote standardization, specialization and branding of the tourism sector

- Ensure multilingual signs and guide systems in key public areas

- Expand coverage of departure tax refund stores for overseas travelers

25. Streamlining approvals and inspections in consumption sectors

- Introduce one-stop approval reform for large-scale commercial performances

- Implement "one approval for nationwide tours"

26. Safeguarding weekend, holiday and vacation rights

- Strictly enforce the paid annual leave system

- Encourage flexible, off-peak vacation schedules

27. Encouraging union-backed consumption

- Expand seasonal group trips organized by trade unions

- Expand the permissible uses of union membership dues

VII. Supporting policies

1. Strengthen the coordination and synergy of pro-consumption policies

2. Enhance the role of investment in supporting consumption

3. Leverage fiscal policies to guide and stimulate consumption

4. Expand financial support

5. Improve consumption-related statistics and monitoring systems

 

Sources: General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Shanghai Municipal Big Data Center