China’s slowdown highlights economic inequality in Shanghai

Ships sail across the Huangpu River past the financial district of Lujiazui in Shanghai on September 23, 2024. – Leader of China admitted Thursday, September 26, 2024, that the country’s economy was facing “new situations and problems,” but people on the streets of financial powerhouse Shanghai suggested that not everyone is being hit equally. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / Agence France-Presse)

SHANGHAI — China’s leaders admitted the country’s economy was facing “new situations and problems” on Thursday but people on the streets of financial powerhouse Shanghai suggested that not everyone is being hit equally.

China has struggled with high youth unemployment, falling consumption, and a property sector crisis in recent years, all of which threaten the government’s goal of five percent growth this year.

Chang Guiyong, proprietor of a hole-in-the-wall eatery in central Shanghai, is part of a group of lower-income citizens and small business owners who have borne the brunt of falling domestic demand.

“Doing business is even tougher this year than it was during the pandemic,” Chang, 58, told Agence France-Presse as he stood in his empty shop.

“People no longer want to consume, even white-collar workers are bringing lunchboxes to eat at the office.”

“We regularly face pressure, we have to pay rent for the shop, rent a place to stay, and there’s the cost of ingredients, water, electricity and gas,” he said.

READ: China admits economy facing new ‘problems’, vows to fix property sector

After months of incremental measures, Beijing unveiled a raft of policies this week intended to boost its flagging economy, including interest rate cuts and lower down payments for homebuyers.

President Xi Jinping and other leaders at a meeting of the powerful Politburo, the Communist Party’s top body, said China must “improve the focus and effectiveness” of its economic policy.

China stimulus: ‘No impact’

Interviews with Shanghai residents on Thursday suggested a distinct divide between people such as Chang and those with higher incomes.

Many told Agence France-Presse their lifestyles had not changed even as the practice of “consumption downgrade” spreads among lower-income households.

“I don’t believe in saving money, I think to spend one’s life consuming is a happy thing,” 70-year-old Wang told Agence France-Presse as he sat at a cafe on Anfu Road, a thoroughfare lined with fashion boutiques.

READ: China considers $142 billion injection for state banks – report

Other people “may feel that their future isn’t very secure, so they don’t consume too much,” Wang said, noting that he was not among that group.

For 24-year-old Cassie Lu, the new stimulus measures “currently have no impact.”

“The people around me are similar, they mostly spend as they please,” said Lu, a frequent shopper.

Claire Yi, a jewelry designer, also said she had not been affected by the economic downturn.

“I don’t think people have stopped spending, but maybe their habits have changed,” she said.

“They might have shifted from a higher level of consumption to an upper-middle level.”

Chang, the food stall owner, said he was unsure what impact the new economic policies would have on him.

“I hope the economy will get better, and ordinary folk will find it easier to do business,” he said.