As China is about to enter the 2026 Two Sessions period, the outside world is paying more attention to various consumption data during the Spring Festival, hoping to get a glimpse of where China will lead this 1.4-billion-population country during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
Instead of focusing on whether the total Spring Festival consumption has “broken records,” we might as well pay attention to the profound qualitative changes occurring in China’s consumption structure: service-oriented consumption is becoming a new growth engine, technology consumption represented by artificial intelligence is increasing, and the silver economy is being further activated. These changes reflect the overall trend of China’s economy better than focusing on single economic data.
During the Spring Festival, on the popular social media app Xiaohongshu in China, many pet owners posted seeking door-to-door pet feeding services for the holiday. According to reports, a pet caregiver with four employees completed 2,000 door-to-door pet feeding services in just over 20 days, earning a monthly income of 160,000 yuan. This news quickly went viral on Chinese social networks. While we focus on the macro trends of China’s economy, such subtle changes are even more worthy of analysis.
Currently, the younger generation in China seems more willing to pay for emotional value, and their diverse needs are stimulating more service-oriented consumption. This change also aligns with the recent IMF’s concerns about China’s economy. Not long ago, the IMF called for China to transition to a consumption-led growth model, reducing over-reliance on exports and investment. It is evident that young Chinese consumers are leading the trend. They are spending not only on goods but also on experiences, convenience, and emotional fulfillment, which is precisely the structural shift needed for a service-oriented economy.
In addition to service-oriented consumption focusing on emotional value, the fluid martial arts performance by the Unitree robot on the CMG Spring Festival Gala stage has also made China’s tech consumption another eye-catching new trend. Some media have summarized that drone performances, robot New Year greetings, and AI-written blessings have quietly become the “new three essentials” for Chinese people during the holiday.
Behind this lies a story with even greater imaginative potential: when tech products begin to enter the holiday consumption list of Chinese people, it signifies that tech consumption is transitioning from “niche experimentation” to “mass daily life.” According to Xinhua News Agency, the global sales share of humanoid robots in China has exceeded 80%—this not only reflects China’s manufacturing capabilities but also indicates that a vast domestic market is accumulating energy for the next leap.
It is conceivable that when hundreds of millions of Chinese families start buying robots like purchasing New Year goods and using AI like sending red envelopes, this will not merely be an increase in consumption data but a transformation of lifestyle. We have every reason to expect that at the upcoming 2026 In two sessions, we will see a clearer blueprint for the Chinese government’s future industrial layout.
Moreover, China’s “silver economy” is also showing unmistakable momentum this Spring Festival. According to data from Qunar, one of China’s leading online travel platforms, 20 percent of passengers flying to Beijing during the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday were aged 50 and above. Even more striking, the number of travelers aged 60 and over surged by 1.6 times compared with the 2025 holiday period.
This demographic shift is no coincidence. On February 24, China convened a high-level meeting on advancing economic development, where policymakers underscored the need for businesses tied to the silver economy to align more closely with evolving policy priorities. The scale of the opportunity is already substantial—and growing fast. According to the Blue Book on the Silver Economy: China’s Silver Economy Development Report (2024), China’s silver economy is currently valued at around 7 trillion yuan, accounting for roughly 6 percent of GDP. By 2035, that figure is projected to expand to 30 trillion yuan, lifting its share of GDP to 10 percent.
The policy direction is clear: priority will be given to sectors such as smart elderly care, senior-friendly tourism, and lifelong education, all aimed at better meeting the increasingly diverse needs of China’s aging population. Far from being a drag on growth, China’s demographic transition is emerging as a new engine—one that blends social stability with long-term economic vitality.
If the Spring Festival serves as a kind of economic microscope, what it reveals is no longer a simple rise or fall in consumption, but a deeper structural shift already underway. Young consumers are redefining demand through services and emotional value; technology is moving from novelty to everyday use; and an aging society is being recast not as a burden but as a new source of growth.
Some observers may still be waiting for a headline number that “breaks records.” But the more important story lies elsewhere. The real question is not how much China spent during one holiday, but how 1.4 billion people are reshaping the way they live, consume, and plan for the future. The answer may not be dramatic, but it is increasingly clear: China’s consumption is becoming more sophisticated and more resilient, and that, more than any single data point, will anchor the country’s trajectory in the years ahead.
