Global Times: How rational consumption drives healthy economic growth without contradicting anti-waste efforts

BEIJING, Sept. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A netizen from people.cn asked that many interest subsidy "red envelopes " and e-commerce platform subsidies have been introduced recently, and I've even traded in my old phones and housing appliances for new ones. 

"However, some people around me wonder whether boosting consumption will encourage waste. Is it possible to both combat waste and boost consumption?" the netizen asked.

The concern is understandable. Irrational consumption does create waste: Banquets that leave tables full of leftovers, impulse purchases that end up unused. These not only burn resources but also run counter to the very purpose of boosting consumption.

So, what kind of "consumption" should be promoted?

For individuals, sound consumption satisfies both material needs and emotional needs. Buying a new phone can improve communication efficiency and quality of life; taking a trip can refresh one's mind and broaden one's horizons. These consumer behaviors, driven by real needs, not only have tangible "functional value" but also provide valuable "emotional value," satisfying consumers' yearning for a better life.

From a macro perspective, consumption is a key engine driving economic growth. 

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 24.55 trillion yuan ($3.39 trillion) in the first half of the year, up 5.0 percent year-on-year - a 1.5 percentage point acceleration compared to 2024. 

During the same period, official data showed that final consumption expenditure contributed 52 percent to GDP growth, a 7.5 percentage point increase from the previous year, further solidifying consumption's role as a main driver of economic growth. 

Given the current complex and volatile international landscape, relying more on domestic demand, especially consumption, to drive economic growth will help withstand external headwinds with internal certainty. From this perspective, boosting consumption is not only necessary but also inevitable.

To come to the netizen's concerns, what we want, however, is not reckless volume-chasing but healthy, sustainable dynamic consumption - It focuses on quality and value, and is completely opposite to waste.

There are also concerns online that campaigns to reduce waste will curb consumption. Is that really the case? Not at all. Campaigning against waste doesn't mean "not consuming" or "consuming less." Rather, it means making every expenditure more rational and meaningful.

From smaller portions and on-demand meal preparation that make dining more refined and healthier, to shared bikes and shared offices that significantly improve resource efficiency; from unused items being traded to promote recycling, to new energy vehicles and energy-saving appliances entering millions of households: These changes show that curbing waste does not suppress consumption; it upgrades consumption patterns and structures, and nurtures new growth drivers. The pursuit of greener and low-carbon development is becoming a new trend, injecting new momentum into high-quality economic development.

Curbing waste is a rational and sustainable mind-set that echoes the tradition of hard work and thrift of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As early as the revolutionary war era, the CPC called for saving every penny for the war effort and the revolutionary cause.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, President Xi Jinping has attached great importance to food security and repeatedly called for promoting the social custom of practicing thrift and opposing waste. Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has emphasized on many occasions the need to stop food waste.

The newly revised Regulations on Practicing Thrift and Opposing Waste in Party and Government Organs are the latest effort by China's top leadership to rein in official perks and promote restraint. The aim is to tighten frugal code for officials and guide society to build consensus and foster a strong atmosphere in which waste is shameful and thrift is honorable.

The way to enrich a country is to save money and benefit the people. The fundamental purpose of Party and government organs leading a frugal life is to ensure that the people live a good life.

This means both "saving where necessary," unwaveringly curbing extravagance and waste, strictly controlling waste, and reducing unnecessary expenditures; and "spending where necessary." It also means spending money where it counts, directing more resources to key areas of development and the urgent needs of people's livelihoods. Both are aligned with the people-centered development philosophy and practice.

"Living well" and "living a good life" are never simply a single choice. We can leverage policy dividends to improve our quality of life through consumption, but we also need to uphold the principle of opposing waste, spending rationally, and conserving resources. This is the perfect compromise between combating waste and boosting consumption.

SOURCE Global Times