In China, Industry Wants to Steer Consumers

China’s auto industry officials are worried that cars are taking a back seat to housing in the government’s strategy to stimulate consumer spending, the official China Daily said. Amid signs that Beijing is looking to boost the housing market this year, auto officials are pushing for consumer credit plans to tap China’s $602-billion pool of personal savings, the newspaper said. “A government-encouraged atmosphere favoring car purchases has yet to arise,” it reported Zhang Xiaoyu, director of the automotive department of the Ministry of Machine Building Industry, as saying. Zhang and other ministry officials, echoing foreign auto makers operating in China, have called for the introduction of financing arrangements to stimulate vehicle sales. However, a recent poll indicated that China’s consumers would rather trade their cash for the keys to an apartment than for car keys. The survey last year by the State Information Center found about 80% of 3,000 households surveyed would buy an apartment before purchasing a family car if forced to choose.