CPPCC Member Proposes Issuing 100,000 Won Consumption Coupons Nationwide
to Stimulate Domestic Demand
Ahead of the Lianghui (Two Sessions - the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), China’s largest annual political event, there has been a proposal to distribute universal consumption coupons worth about 100,000 won to the entire population.
Ahead of China’s largest annual political event, the Two Sessions (the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), there has been a proposal to distribute universal consumption coupons worth approximately 100,000 won to the entire population. Getty Images
According to Chinese economic media outlet Yicai on March 3, Liu Yonghao, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the leading feed company New Hope Group, proposed at a press conference held in Beijing the previous day, “Let’s distribute consumption coupons to the entire population without discrimination, based on their ID cards.”
He stated, “If we distribute 500 yuan (approximately 106,350 won) per person to China’s population of 1.4 billion, the total would amount to 700 billion yuan (about 149 trillion won).” He added, “This could generate about 2 trillion yuan in consumption,” and continued, “It is also expected to create approximately 14 million service sector jobs.”
Pedestrians passing through a food alley in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency
Liu pointed out that in recent years, while the authorities have achieved favorable outcomes by issuing consumption coupons for initiatives such as ‘trade-in for new products’ (Yijiu Huaxin), the benefits have been structurally biased toward e-commerce and large retail companies, leaving small businesses marginalized. He also noted that the impact on platform workers and low- and middle-income groups has not been significant.
Using Malaysia as an example, he explained that distributing consumption coupons based on ID cards would allow them to be used across various consumption environments. He suggested that qualified nationwide financial institutions should lead the program, while fintech organizations handle the issuance and settlement of the coupons, thereby establishing a universally applicable consumption coupon system across all industries.
Liu said that such consumption coupons would not only boost consumption but also provide stronger support to small and micro enterprises and the employment market.
China’s economy has been struggling to recover domestic demand as the slump in the real estate market and contraction in private consumption persist. Authorities are pursuing policies to secure new growth momentum this year by expanding consumption as a core economic policy.
Liu also proposed measures to strengthen industrial competitiveness alongside boosting domestic demand. He stated, “China’s robotics hardware is already among the world’s leaders,” and emphasized, “Robots should be used not only for demonstrations or performances but also deeply integrated into real production and service fields such as manufacturing, agriculture, and daily home life.”
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