Household Consumption in China and its Impact on the Economic Growth

The Chinese consumers are potentially the biggest market in the world, which is not just forming the agenda for the international business, but brings the opportunities for the Chinese economy to be transformed from export-oriented model to inner consumer-oriented in the period while economic growth is slowing down. However, household consumption in China has its own obstacles to grow from the current socio-economic problems to a historically high rate of savings. This study is aimed to analyze the modern pattern of consumption in Chinese households, determining the key specific features and dynamics that could be drivers or constraints for consumption-driven economic growth using data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China supplemented by the findings from existing studies. Although consumption in China is a complex question, we suppose that the break down to the regional level and involving the main economic, demographic, and policy trends are forming a comprehensive base for the analyses of consumption-driven economic growth in the foreseeable future.