WEI Chu: Consumption as a Defining Feature of Common Prosperity in Modernization with Chinese Characteristics

Modernization with Chinese characteristics is a people-centered approach focused on promoting the comprehensive development of individuals and achieving common prosperity. Its defining features include the people's consumption capacity, consumption level, and consumption structure.

From the perspective of development goals, consumption-related indicators should serve as an important basis for measuring the progress of modernization with Chinese characteristics. In the China's 15th Five-Year Plan, consideration could be given to setting quantitative or qualitative targets related to consumption. For example, the share of consumption expenditure in GDP should steadily increase, making consumption the fundamentals of China's economic development. Moreover, targets could be set to ensure that per capita consumption grows in tandem with per capita GDP.

From the perspective of consumption structure, the share of service-oriented consumption and new forms of consumption is an important indicator that reflects development quality, development stage, and the achievements of modernization. A higher share of service-oriented consumption indicates a shift by residents from material consumption to spiritual and service consumption, which reflects the advancement of well-rounded human development. A higher share of new forms of consumption indicates deeper integration of digital technology with consumption, greater convenience, and smarter consumption experiences, which are signs of social progress.

On the new journey of the new era, it is essential to fully recognize the important strategic role of consumption, and to adopt systematic thinking to expand and improve consumption. This will enable consumption to play a greater role in building a new development paradigm and in achieving the goals of modernization with Chinese characteristics, thereby providing solid support for building a great modern socialist country in all respects.

(The above viewpoints are excerpted and translated from the article Deeply Understanding the Strategic Role of Consumption, written by WEI Chu, Research Fellow at the National Academy of Development and Strategy and Dean of the School of Applied Economics at Renmin University of China, published in Red Flag Manuscript.)

Linkage: [Red Flag Manuscript] WEI Chu:Deeply Understanding the Strategic Role of Consumption