BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer market will not be long affected by the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, with more policy supports around the corner and new growth points blooming, Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News quoted experts as saying.
China has witnessed short-term declines in traditional consumer commodities such as automobiles and in service consumption such as tourism and catering since the epidemic broke out in late January.
Government think-tank China Tourism Academy predicted that the volume of domestic tourists will plunge by 56 percent in the first quart of this year and 15.5 percent in the whole year, and that the annual tourism revenue will decrease by 1.18 trillion yuan.
Despite these pressures, many experts have expressed their confidence in the long-term stability of the consumer market.
"There will be more intensive policies to promote consumption throughout the year and accelerated implementation efforts as well, " said Zhao Ping, director of the international trade research department at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Academy, in an interview with the Shanghai Securities News.
Currently, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and local governments are preparing specific policy measures. The MOC may support innovative operation and service models in trade and circulation enterprises, accelerate pedestrian street upgrades, and foster convenience stores and vegetable markets, in order to release the potential of emerging consumption.
Zhao Ping believes that the next batch of consumer policies may focus on promoting the consumption of commodities such as automobiles and on increasing the income of residents.
There will be a compensatory rebound in consumption activities after the epidemic, predicted Wang Bin, an MOC official at a recent press conference. The consumer market is expected to bottom out and stabilize in March, and further improve in the second half of the year, said Wang.
The consumption in China continues to upgrade amid the epidemic outbreak. Many new business formats have grown fast, including online education, online medical care and online office, and the application of new models such as unmanned retail, contactless delivery, and standardized fresh food packages have largely expanded, concluded another MOC official Chu Shijia.
In addition, new consumption habits formed during the epidemic are likely to be carried on. The public health products such as masks and disinfectants, which have highlighted the consumption recently, are expected to maintain a high growth rate even after the epidemic, and people's online shopping habits to be further strengthened especially with future popularization of 5G, added Zhao Ping. (Edited by Li Wenxin, liwenxin@xinhua.org)
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