Nine Chinese Departments Unveil Policy to Boost County-Level Consumption and Lower-Tier Market Vitality
In a coordinated push to expand domestic demand, nine Chinese government departments jointly issued a policy document on August 18 aimed at stimulating the vitality of lower-tier markets and activating consumption in county-level regions. The Opinions on Further Stimulating the Vitality of Lower-Tier Markets and Activating County-Level Consumption, signed on August 13, represents a systematic effort to leverage the vast consumer potential of China’s county areas as a strategic pillar for building a strong domestic market.
The document was jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, State Administration for Market Regulation, and National Financial Regulatory Administration, according to Xinhua News.
Why County-Level Markets Matter
The policy comes amid growing recognition that county-level markets represent a vast and underutilized consumption frontier. County and township markets account for approximately 38.9 percent of total social retail sales in China, with roughly half of the country’s population residing in county areas. Rural residents’ per capita consumption expenditure has grown from 8,383 yuan in 2014 to 19,280 yuan in 2024, a compound annual growth rate of 8.7 percent.
The 2026 Government Work Report explicitly called for “stimulating consumption vitality in lower-tier markets,” and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao outlined plans in March to focus on this area as part of broader efforts to expand domestic demand. As People’s Daily analysis noted, county-level consumption is transitioning from survival-oriented spending toward quality, branded, and diversified consumption patterns.
Five Priority Areas for Action
The policy outlines five main areas of focus to activate county-level consumption. First, it supports county-level consumption channel upgrades, including renovating traditional department stores, optimizing commercial network layouts, improving commercial service facilities, and revitalizing idle resources. The document calls for deepening the “Thousand Markets, Ten Thousand Stores” renovation program and supporting the construction and upgrading of township commercial centers, farmers’ markets, and specialty fairs.
Second, the policy promotes county-level commercial business model innovation and brand building. It encourages chain enterprises to accelerate expansion into lower-tier markets, supports local brand innovation, and promotes the development of new business formats. Notably, it backs the introduction of “one license, multiple locations” for chain enterprises within the same county and supports national-brand trendy products entering county markets.
Third, the policy aims to optimize county-level goods and service supply. It calls for expanding the supply of quality goods at reasonable prices, improving elderly and childcare services, and promoting integrated commercial-agricultural-cultural-tourism-sports development. The document specifically emphasizes promoting “same quality, same enjoyment” of identical products between urban and rural areas, as reported by People’s Daily App.
Fourth, the policy seeks to further improve county-level circulation modernization by enhancing urban-rural circulation network efficiency and guiding online-offline coordinated development. This includes deepening rural e-commerce development and strengthening supply chain services for county-level retail entities.
Fifth, the policy strengthens consumption support capacity by promoting stable employment and income growth, supporting entrepreneurship, and addressing housing needs to unleash consumption potential.
Support for New Energy Vehicles and Green Products
A notable element of the policy is its explicit support for new energy vehicles, green smart products, and green building materials entering rural areas, along with expanding rural charging facility coverage. This aligns with broader national efforts to promote green consumption and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, as highlighted in East Money’s report.
The policy also includes measures to promote “one-stop convenience living circles” extending to county areas, support the development of immersive experiences and “AI + consumption” formats, and encourage second-hand trading and product rental as green consumption models.
Implementation Framework and Support Measures
The document includes 18 specific measures organized under seven main sections, with strong emphasis on factor integration and business environment construction. Support measures span fiscal funds, financial services, and land use guarantees. The policy provides for financial interest subsidies on qualifying personal consumption loans and service industry operating loans, encourages eligible wholesale, retail, and service consumption enterprises to issue bonds and pursue listings, and offers entrepreneurship guarantee loan policies with interest subsidies for chain store openings in county areas.
Land use support is also addressed, with provisions for mixed-use land supply for logistics, warehousing, and cold chain facilities in county areas, flexible land tenure periods, and allowances for temporary changes in property use to provide commercial services.
The full text of the policy is available through 21st Century Business Herald, which published the complete document.
Strategic Significance and Outlook
The policy represents a significant step in China’s broader strategy to build a strong domestic market amid external economic uncertainties. Lower-tier markets have been identified as a key growth frontier, with trends such as reverse tourism, “small city slow living,” and rapid e-commerce expansion driving increased consumption in county areas. County-level instant retail orders grew over 50 percent year-on-year in 2024, and brand merchants’ new store openings in county markets increased by 58.7 percent, according to industry analysis.
The Ministry of Commerce has stated it will strengthen coordination with relevant departments, refine implementation measures, and promote effective policy implementation. As the policy takes effect, observers will be watching how effectively these measures translate into tangible consumption growth in China’s vast county-level markets and whether they can meaningfully contribute to the country’s domestic demand expansion goals.
Moving forward, the key question is implementation. The policy’s success will depend on how local governments adapt these measures to their specific circumstances, how effectively fiscal and financial support reaches businesses and consumers, and whether the infrastructure improvements - particularly in logistics, charging facilities, and commercial services - can keep pace with growing demand in these emerging markets.