PBOC official Peng Lifeng: The main shortcoming affecting the expansion of service consumption is supply.

Peng Lifeng, director of the credit market department of the People's Bank of China, stated at a press conference of the State Council Information Office on July 14 that boosting consumption is the first and foremost key task for economic work in 2025. Service consumption is crucial for boosting consumption and expanding domestic demand, and it also has advantages in creating and absorbing employment opportunities. The development of goods consumption in China is relatively sufficient, accounting for a proportion of GDP that is basically equivalent to the international level, but service consumption is relatively insufficient, with a large potential for growth. Currently, there is strong demand in the service consumption market, and the financial support to meet this demand is relatively sufficient. The main obstacle to expanding service consumption is supply. Therefore, the People's Bank of China has specifically allocated 500 billion yuan for service consumption and elderly care refinancing, guiding financial institutions to accurately support sectors such as accommodation, catering, cultural tourism, sports, education, and elderly care to increase high-quality supply and fill gaps, better leveraging consumption's fundamental role in economic development, promoting the formation of a virtuous cycle where supply creates demand and demand drives supply. In the next step, the People's Bank of China will continue to strengthen coordination on financial, fiscal, and industrial policies with relevant departments.