The plan comes as levels of consumer demand in China have suffered various setbacks in recent years, due to factors such as COVID-19 disruptions and a prolonged property slump, chilling the propensity of households to spend and adding to deflationary trends.

China has announced a plan to revitalise domestic consumption as President Xi Jinping’s government battles to reverse weak confidence and deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy.

China will take steps to revive consumption by boosting people’s incomes, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, as part of a plan that adds to recent pledges by the government to support demand in an economy threatened by Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Beijing’s leaders are ordering fiscally strapped local governments to spend more to help workers, consumers and businesses.

The plan was to vigorously boost consumption, expand domestic demand, and “enhance consumption capacity by increasing income and reducing burdens.”