Domestic consumption. Two grim words that to those unfamiliar with the business pages sound like something a waif-like English lady died from prematurely in the 18th century.
Chinese consumers, particularly those with bank cards, showed slightly less confidence in consumption in September due to an unfavorable economic situation and holiday factors.
Linyi is a perfect example of the inward-looking model that China may have to incline toward if its economy is to continue to grow healthily.
In the commodity town of Linyi city, China's second-largest wholesale trade hub, Song Liansheng, a sporting goods dealer, finishes loading a truck with products to be shipped to another city within the province.
Chinese policymakers have scaled down the country's growth target for domestic consumer goods for the next five years ending in 2015, according to a development plan for domestic trade released Monday.
As China's foreign trade wanes, it is increasingly looking toward domestic consumption to shore up the economy.
China saw its online shopping maintain an annual growth of 140 percent in sales since 2004, driving up domestic consumption.
The Ministry of Commerce has started a one-year pilot program to promote a sound business culture in 10 cities to help boost consumer confidence.
China's plan to have an increasing amount of economic growth generated from consumption opens opportunities to Japanese companies.
Economists have been talking for years about the need to boost domestic consumption to achieve more balanced and sustainable economic growth.
Domestic consumption is important for China's stable economic growth when the world economy shows no sign of recovery. However, consumers seem to lack the confidence to spend.
China's transition and reform have come to a new turning point.
Vice-Premier Li Keqiang called for the expansion of domestic market demand through projects such as affordable housing and medical system reform.
China should boost domestic consumption and focus more on Asian and emerging markets as developed economies falter, the head of the ICC said.
Chinese economists have urged the government to maintain macroeconomic policy continuity and focus on long-term structural transformation.
Domestic consumption will be the main driver of China's economic growth this year, said a Ministry of Commerce think tank.
China is formulating new policies to expand domestic consumption, as foreign trade weakens.
With this plan, the government seeks to provide the foundation for long-term, sustainable economic growth to improve the quality of life for all Chinese citizens. Driving domestic consumption has been given unprecedented priority.
With exports sagging in the face of the global debt crisis, China's manufacturers should look to cash in on domestic demand, said the deputy minister of commerce.
Measures are being drafted to promote domestic sales of goods originally produced for export. The measures coincide with a slowdown in export growth and an upturn in domestic consumption.