(Yicai Global) Jan. 30 -- Shanghai, the city with the biggest economy in China, will make a concerted effort to hike demand and improve supply in order to boost consumption this year, according to a new plan released by the municipal government yesterday.

The city will roll out a series of incentives, such as issuing discount vouchers in the tourism, sports, catering and retail sectors, aimed at getting people spending again now that China has started to ease its pandemic prevention measures.

Shanghai will make great efforts to introduce more shopping festivals, develop new spending patterns and promote green consumption, said Gu Jun, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Spending in brick-and-mortar outlets over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26 recovered to 81.7 percent of last year's levels to CNY32.3 billion (USD4.8 billion), according to the Shanghai consumer market Big Data lab. Some 29.1 million people visited 36 of the city’s districts over the holiday, around 91 percent of the number a year ago.

The city will promote the upgrading of consumption, advance innovations in the consumer market, encourage state-owned enterprises to offer sales promotions, and provide subsidies on cars and home appliances, the government said. It will also give grants to and subsidize the rental fees of economic and technological exhibitions of global influence that are held in Shanghai.

The city will hold activities to attract overseas investors, help exporters win orders from competitors, assist them to expand their markets and make greater efforts to attract and use foreign funds, according to the scheme.

Editor: Kim Taylor