On October 12th, the press conference of Chinese Consumer Confidence Index (CCCI) for the third quarter was held in Beijing Nanyueyuan Hotel. The survey and analysis were jointly completed by School of Statistics, CUEB; School of Statistics and Mathematics, Central University ofFinance and Economics; Statistical Consulting Unit of Department of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong; Institute for Sustainable Development, Macao University of Science and Technology and Big Data Research Center, Taipei Medical University, which are situated in Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan respectively.

In the second quarter, the CCCI of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan were 102.4, 85.3, 85.9, and 85.8. The overall consumer confidence index of the Chinese mainland had a month-on-month decrease and a considerable year-on-year increase. The decline in investment confidence is the main reason for the month-on-month decline of CCCI in this quarter. However, the Expectations Index, standing at 94, is 15.5 points higher than Situation Index and has increased by 17.3 compared with the same period last year, indicating that consumers still hold high expectations for the future despite the disappointment at the current stock market. Consumers are optimistic about the economic development, employment and life standards, but still pessimistic with the price level and the confidence to buy a house, despite slight pick-up in confidence in the second quarter and the same period of last year.

The mainland China’s economy experiences successive slowdown since last year and the GDP growth is expected to keep slowing. Based on the policy of maintaining steady growth, adjusting structure, and promoting innovation-oriented development, Chinese government has continuously rolled out a number of pro-growth policies, including increase in infrastructure investment, income tax breaks for small and micro enterprises, and targeted RRR cuts. Fiscal policy and monetary policy have become more targeted. With the release of the policy dividend, the consumer confidence is on an upward trajectory in general.