Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a demand-driven strategy, coupled with reform and technological empowerment, to invigorate the nation’s service sector, state media Xinhua reported. Speaking at a two-day national service industry conference in Beijing, President Xi directed efforts towards expanding and upgrading the sector, cultivating distinctive “China service” brands, and propelling production-oriented services towards greater specialisation and higher value chain positions. He emphasised developing demand, fostering reform breakthroughs, leveraging science and technology, and expanding openness and cooperation.
Premier Li Qiang further elaborated on the strategy at the meeting, according to Xinhua. He stated that China should expand the supply of upgraded services and refine its consumption structure to align with demographic shifts and meet increasingly diverse consumer demands. Premier Li also highlighted the importance of accelerating the growth of technology services, urging a shift in research and development, along with design efforts, towards greater specialisation and higher value-added segments.
This renewed focus signifies a broader policy shift from Beijing this year, aiming to redirect economic stimulus. Authorities are increasingly moving away from what are sometimes deemed wasteful investments in transport, housing, and industrial infrastructure, towards potentially more productive areas within the service economy. The pivot comes as soft consumer demand has significantly hampered economic growth, with previous measures yet to fully reverse the trend. For context, per-capita services consumption in China was 46.1% in 2025, considerably below the 70% observed in the U.S., highlighting the scope for expansion. Furthermore, the nation’s new five-year plan has pledged to “significantly” boost the share of household consumption in the economy over the next half-decade, from its current level of around 40%, although it stopped short of setting a specific target. This commitment underscores Beijing’s strategic intent to bolster domestic demand and foster a more consumption-led growth model.
