Why people in China aren鈥檛 spending
China wants consumers to spend more, but households are still choosing to save. We explore what's holding spending back, whether Beijing's latest policies can change that, and why China's consumer slowdown matters far beyond its borders.
China is famous for making products the world wants to buy, but inside the country, consumers are spending far less than the government would like.
A property slump, high youth unemployment and weak confidence have left many households choosing to save instead of spend, making it harder for China to shift its economy away from relying on exports.
The Chinese government has introduced a range of measures to encourage spending, from consumer subsidies to a new five-year consumption plan.
But why haven't these policies delivered the results Beijing hoped for? And is China's low consumer spending simply a temporary problem, or a sign of deeper structural issues?
In this episode, host Mariko Oi speaks to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Juliana Liu and Asia Pacific economist Max Zenglein from The Conference Board about why Chinese households save so much, whether Beijing's latest policies can work and why China's spending habits matter not only for its own economy but also for the rest of the world.
