The newly released 15th Five-Year Plan for Expanding Consumption sets a national target of reaching approximately 60 trillion yuan in total retail sales of consumer goods by 2030, representing nearly 10 trillion yuan in incremental consumption. This marks the first time the central government has issued a dedicated plan specifically for the consumption sector, a blueprint that not only underpins the resilience of the nation's economy but also directly touches the spending power of every household. As a major economic province, how can Henan capitalize on this 60-trillion-yuan consumption opportunity to boost spending and optimize supply? Through a deepening package of coordinated policies aimed at expanding domestic demand, nurturing new growth drivers, securing livelihoods, and mitigating risks, Henan's confidence and capability are growing stronger.

Policy Support Activates the Consumer Market

In the first half of this year, Henan's regional gross domestic product reached 3.352158 trillion yuan, up 5.0% year-on-year, outpacing the national average by 0.3 percentage points. The provincial economy successfully achieved its semi-annual targets, fulfilling its responsibility as a major economic province to carry the load. On the consumption front, from January to July, total retail sales of consumer goods in the province reached 1.675007 trillion yuan, up 2.6% year-on-year, which is 1.4 percentage points higher than the national growth rate.

Behind these impressive results lies the sustained empowerment of a policy toolkit focused on boosting the economy and stimulating consumption. Since the beginning of the year, a series of incremental policies have been rolled out intensively. The General Office of the provincial government issued documents aimed at ensuring a strong start to the first quarter and sustaining economic momentum in the second quarter, continuously implementing special actions to boost consumption. These measures include organizing province-wide consumption promotion events under the "Enjoy Henan" initiative and providing direct subsidies to residents to encourage spending.

Since May, a wave of favorable policies has followed. A provincial action plan for fostering and opening up new consumption scenarios (2026-2028) was introduced to expand effective scenario supply. Meanwhile, financial guidance was issued to support Henan's transformation from a major manufacturing province to a strong manufacturing province, outlining 24 measures across seven categories. Additional policies were unveiled to promote high-quality growth of private investment through 20 measures aimed at paving the way for private capital, and an implementation opinion on advancing the quality and capacity of the service sector was released, targeting both producer and consumer services to reach a provincial service industry scale of approximately 4.6 trillion yuan by 2030.

The benefits of the "two new" policies—equipment renewal and trade-ins for consumer goods—continue to be unleashed. As of July 10, provincial finances had allocated 7.76 billion yuan in funds for consumer goods trade-in programs this year, driving 75.9 billion yuan in related product sales and benefiting 12.6 million consumers. Whether it's trading in vehicles for new energy models or upgrading home appliances to smart versions, every "renewal" represents a win-win for industrial upgrading and improved quality of life. Concurrently, the targeted distribution of consumption vouchers is activating market vitality. Throughout the year, various regions across the province have been issuing vouchers for shopping, dining, sports, and more, with provincial-level coordination channeling special funds to guide consumption—turning policy benefits into tangible savings for residents from street-side shops to commercial districts.

Livelihood Security Fosters Endogenous Growth in Consumption

Consumption serves as a vital link between the macroeconomy and millions of households, acting as a key engine of economic growth and a direct reflection of people's aspirations for a better life. The 60-trillion-yuan consumption target anchors a future economic structure led by domestic demand over the next five years. For consumption to "carry the load," residents must first have the means and the confidence to spend. The fundamental approach lies in stabilizing employment, raising incomes, and strengthening social security—transforming consumption from short-term stimulus into long-term, stable endogenous growth momentum.

According to statistics, in the first half of this year, livelihood-related expenditures accounted for 75.8% of general public budget spending in the province, up 2.3 percentage points year-on-year. Focusing on key areas such as elderly care, childcare, education, and healthcare, Henan has been increasing the supply of inclusive public services, expanding coverage of elderly care and childcare services, and promoting the flow of quality medical resources to grassroots levels. These efforts continuously strengthen the social safety net, creating a virtuous cycle between improved livelihoods and increased consumption.

The province's 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly emphasizes the need to closely integrate livelihood improvement with consumption promotion. It calls for implementing a plan to increase urban and rural residents' incomes, expanding inclusive policies that directly benefit consumers, and increasing government spending on livelihood security. In terms of expanding goods consumption, the plan deploys multiple measures to boost automobile sales, stabilize housing consumption, expand digital consumption, and promote green and low-carbon products. On the quality improvement of services, it encourages the development of sports event economies, exhibition economies, and performing arts economies.

According to Yu Xin'an, vice president of the China Regional Economics Association and dean of the Central Plains Innovation and Development Research Institute, Henan's key task during the 15th Five-Year Plan period lies in clearing the "last mile" for policy implementation, particularly in ensuring effective transmission of policy dividends to the grassroots level. "Currently, Henan is coordinating multiple measures such as service upgrades, trade-in programs, and consumption vouchers to create a combined policy effect. It is crucial to monitor implementation outcomes, deeply assess new momentum released by policies, and promote effective alignment between policy measures and consumer demand. Only by continuously stabilizing expectations and strengthening safeguards can residents be encouraged to spend confidently and willingly, truly achieving an organic combination of an effective market and a proactive government," Yu said.

Creating New Consumption Scenarios to Transform Foot Traffic into Loyal Patronage

From the lantern-lit imperial waterways of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty to the cultural performance stages in western Zhengzhou, from the bamboo seas of Funiu Mountain to the red revolutionary sites at the foot of Dabie Mountain—the policy "baton" has sparked a constellation of night-time economies across the province. As night falls, streets come alive with lights and bustling crowds. On August 10, the provincial Development and Reform Commission, together with the provincial Department of Finance, announced the third batch of provincial-level night economy clusters, adding four new sites: Kaifeng's Songdu Imperial City, Zhengzhou's Ersha Cultural and Creative Park, Luoyang's Chongdugou, and Xinxian's Capital Road in Xinyang. Since the recognition program began in 2024, the number of provincial-level night economy clusters has expanded to twelve.

The establishment of new consumption scenarios and enhanced market supply capabilities have driven consumers to increase spending in areas offering high value-for-money products and emotionally engaging experiences, with the night economy increasingly becoming a "hard support" for regional economies. Kaifeng's Songdu Imperial City night economy cluster welcomed 48.56 million visitors in 2025, with nighttime visitors accounting for over 80% of total traffic. Zhengzhou's Ersha Cultural and Creative Park surpassed 10 million visits in 2025, generating 190 million yuan in annual revenue, of which 151 million yuan came from nighttime operations. Xunxian Ancient City saw nighttime consumption account for 82.5% of its full-day consumption. Behind these figures lies the power of new consumption spaces in converting "foot traffic" into "loyal patronage," helping the night economy evolve from "lighting up" to "booming." According to surveys by the Henan Provincial Local Economic and Social Survey Team, 64.2% of the clusters report that sales after 6 PM account for more than half of their full-day revenue, making the nighttime period a key lever for driving all-day consumption.

At a provincial government press conference in May, Ma Jian, director of the provincial Development and Reform Commission, stated that Henan would continue to create new consumer scenarios modeled after "Pangdonglai," cultivate benchmark consumer enterprises like "Mixue Bingcheng," launch more phenomenal cultural IPs similar to "Tang Gong Ye Yan," and develop premium cultural and tourism integration products akin to "Only Henan." The goal is to synchronize supply innovation with consumption trends. The implementation opinion on advancing the service sector explicitly calls for deepening the integration of culture, tourism, and sports, promoting high-quality consumption upgrades, introducing high-quality, high-traffic premier exhibitions and performances, creating boutique cultural tourism routes and distinctive pioneering scenarios, increasing the supply of sports events and integrated cultural-tourism-sports products, and vigorously developing the sports event economy, ice and snow economy, and outdoor sports industry.

Yu Xin'an pointed out that Henan possesses three core advantages in promoting consumption: its large population base, hub-level transportation connectivity, and capacity for scenario innovation. With new consumption benchmarks like Pangdonglai and Mixue Bingcheng, the province's domestic demand potential is enormous. Moving forward, Henan should firmly uphold its responsibility as a major economic province, deeply integrate the "six strong provinces" initiative with the strategy of expanding domestic demand, systematically unleash its comprehensive advantages, and take the lead in the national effort to boost consumption, making greater contributions to the stable growth of the national consumer market.