Further Opening: State Council to cut import tariffs on a range of consumer goods

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02:23

China has announced a fresh range of measures aimed at stimulating spending. From Sunday, the State Council is to cut import tariffs on 15-hundred daily consumer goods -- it says the move is part of its efforts to further open the economy, boost quality and competition, and to meet the growing demands of the people. XING RUINAN has more.

The Chinese government has announced several rounds of duty reductions since 2015. Starting from Sunday, there will be lower tariffs on more taxable items. For instance, clothing, home appliances and cosmetics, their average rates are set to be slashed.

And news of the cuts went down well with many consumers.

SHANGHAI RESIDENT "I'll probably buy some. Since the tariffs are so much lower it amounts to a discount."

SHANGHAI RESIDENT "I'll do some shopping. First, the reduction in tariffs means the prices will be much cheaper."

It is, of course, just the latest tariff reduction.

Last December, the government included nearly 200 items in their cuts -- including foods, health supplements and recreational goods, products which are very popular with the average Chinese consumer.

GAO LIQUN TAX PARTNER, DELOITTE CHINA "With the development of Chinese economy, Chinese consumers' purchasing power has become much stronger, according to public information, Chinese consumers spent 200 bln dollars every year on overseas consumption, with most of the amount spent on daily consumer products."

Lowering tariffs does not only bring benefits to consumers, it also contributes to the development of the global economy.

President Xi said as much during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland early last year.

XI JINPING CHINESE PRESIDENT "It is true that economic globalization has created problems, but this is no justification to write economic globalization off completely. Rather, we should adapt to and guide globalization, cushion its negative impacts and deliver its benefits to all nations and all countries."

By reducing its import costs, China says it's sharing both its development dividend and growing market with the rest of the world.

XING RUINAN, CGTN.