China to introduce multiple measures to further promote service consumption

China will introduce multiple practical measures to further promote service consumption, which plays an important role in optimizing the country's consumption structure, said the Ministry of Commerce at a press conference on Friday in Beijing.

China's State Council has issued the "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Service Consumption" -- the first such document in the service sector. It proposes 20 key areas for boosting consumption vitality, including catering and accommodation, elderly care and childcare, entertainment, tourism and more.

"We will focus more on improving people's well-being and stimulating consumption in economic policy-making and take service consumption as a significant booster for expanding and upgrading consumption, propping up consumption in areas such as cultural tourism, elderly care, childcare, home-making, and so on," said Tang Wenhong, assistant minister of commerce.

Authorities say stronger fiscal and financial support will also be implemented to promote the construction of infrastructure in the service sector.

"Meanwhile, we will comprehensively utilize central budget investment, local government special bonds, targeted relending for public-interest elderly care and other funding tools to support the facilities construction of elderly care and childcare service system and the upgrade of facilities and equipment used in sports and cultural events," said Chang Tiewei, vice director of the Department of Employment, Income Distribution and Consumption under the National Development and Reform Commission.

Meanwhile, Chinese policymakers also called for developing new types of consumption, boosting digital, green, and health-related consumption.

Also, on the anvil are creating new avenues for domestic consumption growth, such as smart home products and entertainment.

For its next step, the Ministry of Commerce said it will further promote service consumption by expanding the supply lines of the service sector and increasing the vitality of market entities.

China will also summon its strength to guide and encourage the digitalization and intelligentization of consumption scenarios, promote the innovative integration of various service areas such as commerce, transportation, culture, tourism, and sports, promote the deep integration of advanced manufacturing and modern services and the integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas, and cultivate new growth points for service consumption.

In the meantime, the country will further expand the opening up of the service industry, enhance service supply capabilities and service levels, and expand the scale of service consumption.

"We will select areas with large market demand and insufficient effective supply, and expand opening up in steps and by categories and regions, optimize supply through opening up, and create demand through supply, so as to promote the high-quality development of service consumption," said Tang.

China to further promote service consumption

Many Singaporeans support raising the re-employment age, partly to stay busy and active in retirement, and to help address demographic challenges in the workforce.

Like many other Asian countries, Singapore is grappling with a rapidly aging population. The government predicts that by 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 or older, up from one in 10 two decades ago.

A survey on retirement and employment conducted last year in the country found broad support for raising the national retirement age, with about 88 percent of those aged 50 and above in favor.

Some supported increasing the retirement age because continuing to do what they love, rather than retiring, keeps them feeling youthful and fulfilled.

When Nancy Hor, a retired IT operations manager, left her job five years ago, she wasn't sure how to fill her time.

"I'm a workaholic. At the very first stage after I retired, I felt I could not find balance," she said.

Hor, now 70, said it took her some time to adjust. In her spare time, she stays busy line dancing and spending time with her family.

But she said that if she had had the choice, she would have liked to stay employed a little longer.

"I think it's good for the elderly that even they have some job to do, and keep them busy," said Hor.

In March, authorities announced plans to raise the retirement age to 64 and the re-employment age to 69 by 2026.

Singapore's Minister of State for Manpower, Gan Siow Huang, said the changes to the rules protect senior workers from dismissal due to age-related issues before they reach the statutory retirement age. Employers are also required to offer re-employment to eligible workers until they reach the statutory re-employment age limit.

This follows a similar move made two years ago to raise the retirement and re-employment ages to 63 and 68, respectively. The city-state is also aiming for a retirement age of 65 and a re-employment age of 70 by 2030.

"That is to reduce the impact on businesses, so it gives time for businesses to adapt their policy. This gradual increase in retirement age basically provides a framework for individuals like myself, who want to continue to be gainfully employed," said Patrick Chang, a retirement planning specialist and the author of the A to Z guide to retirement planning.

Chang said that businesses will need to make adjustments to accommodate the changes, including offering retraining for senior workers.

He noted that the changes won't impact those who still wish to retire earlier, but given Singapore's demographic challenges, the country cannot afford to remain idle.

"If we don't do it now, the social cost could be high. We cannot wait until the time when we need it today, and then we get something done. It will probably be a bit too late, and the cost of getting to that solution will be higher," said Chang.

Many Singaporeans support raising retirement, re-employment ages