Hello and welcome to World Today.
I'm Ding Heng in Beijing.
Coming up,
China unveils a special guarantee program to support private sector investment and plans are also underway to support consumption.
And we will explore China's role as this year's World Economic Forum.
Germany brings back EV subsidies to boost EV sales.
Japan's Prime Minister calls snap election three months after taking office.
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China's top economic regulator says authorities will unveil a plan within this year on implementing the strategy to boost the consumption.
It will cover the 15-5-year plan period until the year 2030.
China's National Development and Reform Commission says the government will continue to use trading programs and subsidies to support consumption of goods such as EVs,
but its focus is shifting towards services.
In the meantime,
China's Ministry of Finance has announced a special guarantee program with a scale of $500 billion or $71 billion to support investment in small and medium-sized private enterprises.
The National Financing Guarantee Fund will cover median and long-term loans as well as financial needs related to daily business operations.
So, for more joining us now on the line is Dr.
Yao Shu Jie, Chang Kong Professor of Economics with Chongqing University.
So, thank you very much for joining us today, Professor Yao.
Officials with the NDRC have admitted that China's current economic operation features strong supply but weak demand.