China’s leaders have spent the past week unveiling their plan to steer the world’s second-largest economy through looming challenges by transforming the country into a technological powerhouse and ramping up spending to hit an ambitious growth target.

Beijing’s leaders are ordering fiscally strapped local governments to spend more to help workers, consumers and businesses.

Retail sales increased 4 per cent in January-February from the same period a year earlier. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The plan comes as levels of consumer demand in China have suffered various setbacks in recent years, due to factors such as COVID-19 disruptions and a prolonged property slump, chilling the propensity of households to spend and adding to deflationary trends.

Authorities in China pledged on Sunday to "vigorously boost consumption" and "expand domestic demand in all directions" as they seek to cushion the impact of weak external demand amid an escalating global trade war.

China has announced a plan to revitalise domestic consumption as President Xi Jinping’s government battles to reverse weak confidence and deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy.