China set to change its development model to boost domestic consumption, says Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, November 19 said that the country will change its development model from next year, moving from export-driven growth to more domestic consumption-based growth. Xi Jinping, while speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Dialogues, said from 2021 onwards China will shift to the new development paradigm, calling it a "strategic decision". 

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"From next year on, China will embark on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country. We will foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. The new development paradigm is a strategic decision we have made based on the current stage and conditions of development in China and with full consideration given to economic globalisation and changes in the external environment," Xi said in his address.  

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'Will also help other countries'

Xi said that the new development model will help China unlock the full potential of its domestic market and will also help other countries to benefit from it. China's per capita GDP has surpassed the $10,000 threshold in the past decade and its middle-income population has grown to over 400 million, which has created a greater demand for products in the domestic market. Xi said that the Chinese people wanting to lead a better life with a growing economy will create more demand for products and services from across the world. 

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China has become the world's second-richest economy, second only to the United States. The flourishing economy has propelled most of its population in the middle-income category, making it the world's biggest developing market. Last month, China's ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), which expects to overhaul the country's domestic market to boost consumption in order to reduce reliance on exports. 

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(With inputs from PTI, Image Credit: AP)