China leads world as consumer sentiment rebounds: survey

China's national Consumer Confidence Index led major economies in August by rebounding to 72.9 points, becoming the only economy to show a gain from January, France-based market research firm Ipsos reported Monday.

Compared with January, every country's national index was down except for China's, which posted an increase of 3.2 points in August, the report showed. By contrast, six countries — including the US, India and Brazil — saw their indices decline by more than 10 points.

The swift rebound of Chinese consumer confidence was in part due to China's success in quickly getting the coronavirus outbreak under control, Tian Yun, vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times Tuesday.

China developed a very effective epidemic management system, which was backed by advanced technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, Tian said. "Domestic consumers are not as pessimistic as they were during the early stage of the outbreak, as they can now pursue normal business and social activities with the help of new tools like health QR codes and digital thermometers," he said.

Graphic: GT

In the meantime, China's economic recovery, especially its 3.2-percent GDP growth in the second quarter, along with a stable job market, has increased consumers' confidence.

Zhou Dewen, deputy director of the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, told the Global Times Tuesday that small firms hit harder by the global pandemic started to achieve faster recoveries in the second half of this year, thanks to support policies from the central and local governments.

Despite challenges brought on by the global pandemic, flexible small and medium-sized enterprises that create about 80 percent of China's jobs are coming up with measures to find new growth points, he said.

China's unemployment was 5.7 percent in July, the same as in the previous month.

If China can effectively prevent imported COVID-19 cases for the rest of the year, the economy could achieve 3-percent annual growth, with the situation for consumption more optimistic than in the first half, Tian said.

"As for the US, the economy may shrink 5 percent this year, and despite sufficient federal subsidies, it's still going to be hard to recover to the pre-pandemic level," he said, noting that the American economy may not fully recover until 2022.

Overall, the Global Consumer Confidence Index (GCCI) stood at 41.4 points in August, up half a point month-on-month, according to Ipsos.

The GCCI is the average of the national indices of 24 world markets including China, the US, Japan and Germany. It's based on a monthly survey of more than 17,500 adults under the age of 75 conducted on Ipsos' Global Advisor online platform.