Eliza Wong
Executive Summary
China’s latest policy initiative aims to revitalize domestic consumption through targeted service sector reforms. Key takeaways include:
- Nineteen concrete measures across five key areas to boost service consumption
- Enhanced support for cultural tourism, sports events, and digital service innovation
- Financial and regulatory incentives for foreign investment in service sectors
- Streamlined visa policies to attract international tourists and students
- Comprehensive statistical monitoring system to track service consumption growth
China’s Strategic Push for Service Consumption Expansion
On September 16, 2025, nine Chinese ministries led by the Ministry of Commerce (商务部) unveiled a groundbreaking policy framework designed to accelerate service consumption expansion across the economy. This comprehensive approach represents China’s most significant effort to date in rebalancing economic growth toward domestic consumption, particularly in high-value service sectors that have shown strong potential for both domestic and international market development.
The timing of this announcement reflects Beijing’s strategic response to both domestic economic needs and global market opportunities. With manufacturing exports facing headwinds and property markets undergoing structural adjustments, service consumption expansion offers a viable pathway to sustainable economic growth while addressing rising consumer demand for quality services.
Policy Framework and Implementation Mechanism
The document titled “Several Policy Measures on Expanding Service Consumption” outlines 19 specific measures organized into five thematic areas. Each measure includes clear designation of responsible ministries and implementation timelines, ensuring accountability and coordinated execution across government agencies. This multi-ministerial approach demonstrates the comprehensive nature of China’s service consumption expansion strategy.
Platform Development for Service Consumption Growth
The first pillar of the policy focuses on creating robust platforms that can facilitate and accelerate service consumption expansion. These platforms will serve as catalysts for broader market development and consumer engagement.
Service Consumption Quality Improvement Initiative
Central to this effort is the “Service Consumption Quality Improvement and People’s Benefit Action” program, which will strengthen policy support, build platform carriers, expand opening-up, enhance standard leadership, and optimize consumption environments. The program continues the “Shop in China” brand development while launching seasonal promotional activities targeting high-potential service sectors that directly impact people’s livelihoods.
Innovation Pilot Cities Program
The policy establishes pilot cities for developing new consumption formats, models, and scenarios. These cities will pioneer首发经济 (first-release economy) initiatives, promote innovative service consumption scenarios, and support cross-border collaborations between quality consumption resources and famous IPs. The goal is to create integrated business-tourism-culture-sports-health consumption scenarios and cultivate new consumption leading enterprises.
Enhancing High-Quality Service Supply
The second component addresses the critical need for improved service quality and diversity across multiple sectors. This represents a fundamental shift from quantity-focused growth to quality-driven service consumption expansion.
Service Sector Opening and International Integration
China will expand high-level opening in service industries, particularly in internet and cultural sectors, while broadening pilot openings in telecommunications, healthcare, and education. The policy accelerates comprehensive pilot demonstrations for service sector opening and supports inclusion of more service consumption areas in the “Encouraged Foreign Investment Industry Catalogue” to provide differentiated service supply.
Cultural and Tourism Infrastructure Development
The measures allocate existing funding channels to support quality creations in literature, art, film, and animation sectors. The policy emphasizes utilizing existing venues to develop theaters, museums, art galleries, and science museums with strong radiation and driving effects. It supports world cultural heritage sites, cultural museum venues, intangible cultural heritage institutions, and historical cultural cities in挖掘传统文化IP市场价值 (excavating traditional cultural IP market value) to create new service consumption scenarios.
Operational Flexibility and Market Orientation
The policy encourages flexible operating hours for popular cultural museums and scenic spots, optimization of reservation methods, and promotion of reservation-free entry. Cultural museum venues can innovate exhibition methods with earnings available for performance incentives. The measures promote opening of collection resources to social forces for cultural creative and digital product development, advancing market-oriented cultural exhibitions into shopping malls, communities, and parks.
Generating New Service Consumption Growth Points
The third strategic area identifies and cultivates new sources of service consumption growth, particularly through international engagement and digital transformation.
International Visitor Attraction Strategy
China will有序扩大单方面免签国家范围 (orderly expand unilateral visa-free country范围) and optimize regional entry visa-free policies. The measures continuously improve visa policies for foreigners coming to China and enhance convenience measures for communication, accommodation, and payment. Qualified individuals can obtain 5-year multiple-entry visas, strengthening international promotion of China’s cultural tourism resources.
Digital Service Consumption Innovation
The policy encourages e-commerce platforms to innovate online-offline integrated digital service consumption scenarios and supports life service enterprises in digital transformation and promotion operations. It launches “AI + Consumption” typical application case recommendations and continuously creates new information consumption products, scenarios, and hotspots.
Academic Calendar Optimization
In a significant move for family consumption patterns, the policy optimizes student vacation arrangements while maintaining total vacation days and teaching time. Local authorities can scientifically adjust teaching and vacation timing based on climate conditions, production arrangements, and paid leave system implementation. The exploration of spring and autumn vacations for primary and secondary schools, with corresponding shortening of summer and winter vacations, aims to increase tourism travel and other service consumption time.
Financial and Regulatory Support Mechanisms
The fourth component establishes comprehensive financial and regulatory frameworks to support service consumption expansion through targeted incentives and risk management tools.
Dedicated Funding Channels
The policy coordinates use of central budget内投资 (internal investment), local government special bonds, and various fund channels to support qualified cultural, tourism, elderly care, childcare, and sports service facilities construction. The Service Trade Innovation Development Guidance Fund will invest in qualified service consumption enterprises following market principles, guiding social capital toward service consumption sectors.
Enhanced Credit Support and Financial Innovation
Comprehensive use of monetary credit policy tools will support financial institutions in expanding credit投放 (credit placement) in service consumption fields. Institutions will increase credit投放 to service consumption business entities with reasonable loan interest rates for sustainable support. Financial institutions are encouraged to develop特色金融产品和服务 (characteristic financial products and services) tailored to service consumption business characteristics and financing needs.
Risk Management and Incentive Structures
The measures increase consumer credit support through new or existing risk compensation special funds to share consumer credit risk. Key area consumer loan interest subsidies will guide financial institutions and merchants to cooperatively develop products and services suitable for service consumption characteristics, forming a combination of “government subsidies + financial support + merchant preferences.”
Implementation and Monitoring Framework
The final component ensures effective policy implementation through robust statistical monitoring and inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms.
Advanced Statistical Monitoring Systems
The policy optimizes service consumption statistical methods, accelerating分地区服务零售额测算工作 (sub-regional service retail sales measurement work) to objectively reflect regional service consumption development. Innovative statistical monitoring methods encourage qualified localities to utilize big data and information technology for service consumption monitoring and analysis.
Cross-Ministerial Coordination and Accountability
All relevant departments and units must resolutely implement the decisions of the Central Committee and State Council, promoting detailed implementation of various policy measures. The Ministry of Commerce will play a coordinating role in promoting service consumption development, leading improvement of support policies, increasing quality service supply, and better satisfying diverse service consumption needs.
Strategic Implications for Global Investors
China’s comprehensive service consumption expansion policy represents a significant opportunity for international investors and businesses. The measures create numerous entry points for foreign participation in China’s service sectors, particularly in areas prioritized for opening and development.
The explicit focus on attracting foreign investment through market access liberalization and regulatory incentives provides clear pathways for international companies seeking to capitalize on China’s consumption growth story. The coordinated approach across multiple ministries reduces implementation risks and ensures policy consistency.
For global investors, the service consumption expansion initiative signals China’s commitment to sustainable economic rebalancing and quality growth. The emphasis on digital services, cultural tourism, healthcare, and education aligns with global consumption trends and offers partnership opportunities across multiple sectors.
Forward-Looking Market Guidance
China’s service consumption expansion policy framework establishes a clear roadmap for sector development through 2025 and beyond. The comprehensive nature of the measures, combined with detailed implementation mechanisms, suggests strong potential for meaningful impact on consumption patterns and economic structure.
Investors should monitor implementation progress across different regions and sectors, particularly focusing on pilot programs and early success stories. The statistical monitoring enhancements will provide valuable data for assessing policy effectiveness and identifying emerging opportunities.
The service consumption expansion initiative represents a strategic priority for China’s economic development, with sustained government support likely through multiple policy cycles. International businesses and investors should engage proactively with Chinese partners and regulators to capitalize on this transformative opportunity.
