Amid China’s push to ensure a good start for its economy in 2024 to quell concerns from overseas investors and lift market confidence, the home of its largest iPhone and iPad assembly line has released a 17-point action plan to boost consumption, tourism and industrial production.
The central province of Henan would offer increased rewards of 35,000 yuan (US$5,000) for every incoming tourist train and 65,000 yuan for each chartered plane arriving in the first quarter, it said on Monday.
It also pledged to release a list of 100 key industrial projects by the end of January, and start the construction projects funded by government bonds by the end of June.
“We must push hard for a good start to first quarter economic growth, so that it can lay a solid foundation for the full-year targets,” the provincial government said.
The Henan government said it would also reward industrial firms 100,000 yuan if they exceed their production targets in the first quarter, and 200,000 yuan for those achieving a year-on-year operating revenue increase of more than 10 per cent.
Beijing is pushing for a good start in the first quarter of 2024 for the world’s second-largest economy to lift market expectations following China’s uneven economic recovery last year.
Beijing is still grappling with headwinds including sluggish overseas demand, mounting local debt, a property market downturn and subdued domestic demand.
“We must introduce policies that help stabilise market expectations, economic growth and employment,” Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director at the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, wrote in the People’s Daily on Tuesday.
At the end of December, China’s southern economic powerhouse of Guangdong province had issued vouchers offering consumers discounts of up to 60 per cent to stimulate consumption at the end of the year and during the New Year’s Day holiday.
Harbin, the capital of the northeastern Heilongjiang province, also made moves to support its snow economy last month by offering the world’s top 500 companies who set up their new headquarters in the city a reward equivalent to 2 per cent of their turnover if their total revenues exceed 50 million yuan (US$7 million).
It said it would also provide an additional one-time award of 500,000 yuan for tourist attractions selected for the first time as national demonstration projects, and a maximum support of 1 million yuan for projects related to the snow economy.
China Economy – South China Morning Post China manufacturing
