Recently, the 'Opinions on Further Energizing Sinking Markets and Activating County Consumption' were publicly released. On August 18, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the details.
Li Jialu, director of the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Circulation Development, said at the conference that county consumption is both a major component of total consumption and an important source of incremental consumption. From January to July this year, rural retail sales rose 2.4% year on year, 1.3 percentage points above urban, and have exceeded or roughly matched urban for 55 consecutive months. County and township retail accounted for 39.1% of total social retail, up 0.3 points from a year earlier. The rapid county-consumption growth has multiple drivers.
New-type urbanization brings huge increments as county populations gradually concentrate from villages to county seats. The seventh census showed the permanent population of county seats and county-level cities grew over 30%. More than 15 million returning entrepreneurs have flowed back, bringing changes in consumption style and quality. Income growth provides strong momentum: during the 14th Five-Year Plan, per-capita disposable rural income rose over 42.8%, 13.9 points above urban; in 2025 rural residents' marginal propensity to consume was 11.5 points above urban. Stacking sustained income growth with high marginal propensity creates a multiplier effect on rural consumption. An improving environment unleashes demand: county-town-village commercial outlets keep improving, logistics networks keep expanding, and chain brands accelerate their footprint, enriching choices.
Li noted that latent demand constrained by geography is steadily turning into real consumption. Next, the ministry will adapt to changing county demand and take multiple steps to prosper the market, working both the sales and production ends to enrich quality supply. A recent survey showed 49.4% of rural residents see too few product varieties as the biggest offline pain point. Relevant departments will push new-energy vehicles and green smart products into the countryside, expand rural charging coverage, and optimize the purchase-and-use environment, while encouraging firms to develop products suited to county tastes, build their own brands and form flexible supply chains.
