Xinhua Commentary: Responding to People's Livelihood Expectations to Stimulate New Vitality in Service Consumption

Service consumption is a crucial link, connecting to the "growth pole" of the economy on one end, and tying into the "happiness line" of people's lives on the other.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approach, the demand for service consumption such as catering, travel, tourism, and entertainment continues to rise. Recently, multiple government departments have introduced policies and measures to expand service consumption and upgrade the construction of the 15-minute便民生活圈 (convenient living circles) in cities, continuously driving the "main engine" of consumption to gain momentum. With policy support, the key to further stimulating vitality and unleashing potential in the consumer market lies in responding to the expectations of people's livelihoods and genuinely meeting the needs and aspirations of the public.

To activate consumption, it is necessary to enhance the warmth of services and precisely align with the higher expectations for people's livelihoods. When people can not only enjoy down-to-earth dishes but also experience distinctive culture in restaurants, when basic service needs like "one shop for breakfast," "one stop for groceries and repairs," and "care for the elderly and children" are met in their neighborhoods, and when personalized demands such as guided cooking services or pet services are catered to with a simple tap on their phones, more consumption willingness will be continuously translated into actual consumer actions.

To activate consumption, the service environment must be improved, and the supply of high-quality, accessible services must be increased. In response to issues such as an oversupply of low-end, homogeneous services and a shortage of specialized, personalized offerings in service consumption, a series of new measures recently introduced are widely anticipated. These include "encouraging the introduction of outstanding international sports events and supporting local governments in hosting mass sports events," "easing market access in areas like mid-to-high-end healthcare and leisure vacations," "extending business hours for popular cultural, museum venues, and scenic spots based on local conditions," and "carrying out special training actions for domestic service vocational skills." Only when people feel confident and willing to consume can the market become increasingly prosperous.

Urban and rural residents are both the main actors in boosting consumption and the ultimate beneficiaries of national development. By consistently focusing on the genuine concerns of the people, listening to their voices, and responding to their expectations, we can ensure that service supply resonates with the demands of people's livelihoods. This will truly ignite the engine of service consumption and inject endless momentum into high-quality economic development.