More tax incentives required to boost domestic consumption

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance posted on its website an article about what it has done this year to maintain economic growth. At a time when China's economic slowdown seems wider and deeper than expected, this supportive fiscal measure reminds us of the government's acts and determination to overcome the economic difficulties.

In a speech at Summer Davos, the World Economic Forum in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, on Thursday, Premier Li Keqiang said a more encouraging sign is that China's economy is more oriented toward consumption, which accounts for half of China's economic output and 60 percent of growth.

However, if China is to expedite the economic transformation in order to reduce its reliance on fixed-asset investment and export growth and, further, boost consumption and innovation to drive sustainable growth, policymakers need to stay focused on implementing the consumption-related tax reforms under consideration.