After the epidemic, China’s economy has been struggling, with weak domestic demand. Following the downgrading of consumption, extreme low consumption has become popular. Due to salary cuts and intense competition, people’s desires have decreased, and Chinese people are starting to live frugally. Even the security staff at the Communist Party’s “Two Sessions” have had their meals reduced.
Recently, the topic of extreme low consumption has resonated with netizens. People have noticed the spread of extreme low consumption, such as white-collar workers earning 30,000 yuan a month rushing to buy 12 yuan boxed meals; office workers in Beijing’s financial district bringing their own lunch; middle-class families drastically cutting their air travel budgets, with searches for 98 yuan discount flights surging by 400%; and the 4 yuan pure tea series at Heytea selling out 300,000 cups.
Analysis suggests that there are many reasons behind this trend. 71% of household income is swallowed up by mortgages, education, and healthcare, making it difficult for employees aged 35 and above to find new jobs. Young people have also awakened to the fact that they no longer want to pay premiums for brand names.
The trend of living paycheck to paycheck has also prompted people to start saving money. Netizens have expressed, “It’s not that we’ve awakened, it’s that we have no money and are pessimistic about the future.” They have shared how they have cut back on unnecessary expenses, avoiding takeout, dining out as little as possible, cutting back on extracurricular activities for their children, switching to sample-sized skincare products, avoiding buying new clothes, quitting snacks, and exercising outdoors rather than at the gym.
A netizen from Guangdong mentioned that the residential area is full of parked cars by 8 PM as everyone now chooses to eat at home. Before last year, the parking lot used to be full until 9 or 10 PM.
Another netizen from Zhejiang revealed, “I reuse the seasoning packet from instant noodles three times by adding more noodles. One packet can be used three times.” He predicted, “Chinese people can’t stop comparing themselves to others. After consumption shrinks, they will start comparing about who is poorer.”
Indeed, netizens have been sharing how they are cutting costs in amusing yet poignant ways, such as switching to a cheaper mobile phone plan, using a bar of soap instead of luxury shower gels, taking advantage of supermarket evening discounts, moving from shopping malls to online platforms like Pinduoduo, canceling credit cards, skipping meals to have only two a day, licking yogurt lids clean, flushing the toilet less, loitering in air-conditioned McDonald’s, and using the same phone for over 5 years.
“After these three years of the epidemic, apart from the initial revenge spending, everything has started to weaken. Earning money used to be a normal job, but now it requires great effort. Many people are struggling to make ends meet. Most working-age people feel anxious to varying degrees, and many have reduced their consumption after careful thought and comparison.”
A former insider from Shandong told a reporter that they can feel this downgrade in consumption, and saving money has become a consensus. Some supermarkets now have more expired goods, attracting more people looking for bargains. Pizza Hut has also engaged in price wars, aiming to appeal to the masses to maintain its market position.
He observed that many physical stores in the area have closed and reopened in a cycle, with new stores unable to keep up with the pace of closures. Rent prices are also collapsing, with tenants seeking lower rents, and there are signs of landlords waiving transfer fees.
Recently, the trend of salary cuts has reached hospitals. A healthcare worker from Hebei mentioned that even after not receiving bonuses for half a year, there is still economic pressure. With children needing education, she plans to start a small food stand to help with household expenses and save up for her child’s tuition fees.
“People are only focusing on eating, not buying anything else now. No one wants to buy clothes or anything. Everyone is just trying to survive the basics,” she said.
Currently, with extreme low consumption on the rise, travel has become a luxury expense.
According to netizens, senior citizens can go on a four to five-day trip for only a few hundred yuan, with closer destinations costing as little as 99 yuan. They spend all day on a bus, visiting various attractions. “Do you really think traveling is extravagant nowadays? Compared to buying cars or houses, the cost of traveling is like a drop in the bucket.” These trips are mostly taken by wealthy retirees and cash-strapped students.
Some netizens lamented, “People without money can’t spend, while those with money dare not spend. It’s a time of despair about the future.” “The overall economic environment is not good, and it’s better to save money.”
However, it has been noted that there are two distinct worlds, both online and offline. “It’s just that the polarization has become more severe, with the poor getting poorer, cutting back on consumption, while the rich continue to snatch up luxury homes in first-tier cities. A 10 million yuan house is considered cheap, and on weekends, large crowds flood to the Sam’s Club in major cities, spending thousands casually and not hesitating to use their phones for purchases,” a netizen shared.
A Beijing engineer, Mr. Lin, mentioned that the overall economic environment is challenging and money is harder to earn now. As for consumption levels, they have varied among the people he knows, without precise data. The consumption of gift items during the New Year’s visits has not downgraded. He personally feels anxious about the job market, and while a general downgrade in consumption hasn’t appeared yet, there are warning signs.
It is worth noting that in recent years, despite the Chinese Communist Party repeatedly emphasizing the need to tighten belts, spending on stability maintenance, military funding, and foreign aid has not decreased.
During the 14th National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the Ministry of Finance announced that the 2025 military budget is expected to be around 1.7847 trillion yuan, with a 7.2% annual increase, exceeding the 5% economic growth target. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the Chinese military budget growth rate has surpassed 7% since 2022.
A leaked document from the Jinshui Town government in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, titled “Important Sensitive Node Stability and Security Service Contract” with a security company shows that the security costs for key personnel in 2025 amount to a staggering 4.8 million yuan.
The contract requires the deployment of security personnel to control key individuals during critical periods to ensure a 100% control rate. Specially assigned security personnel are to maintain control at designated points 24/7.
The 24-hour control scheme is divided into morning and evening shifts, with working hours from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for the day shift and from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM for the night shift. The total projected work hours are not less than 159,000 hours over 12 months. Therefore, it can be calculated that the hourly wage for security personnel is 30.35 yuan.
In comparison, security guards at the Beijing Two Sessions reportedly earn below 15 yuan per hour, due to multiple deductions. A circulated image showed a security guard displaying their “special” breakfast, consisting of rice soup, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables. “It’s been 10 days, and we haven’t seen any meat. We even got stomachaches from the food. Finally, the Two Sessions have ended,” they said.
In response, the above-mentioned former insider remarked, “This is reminiscent of the end of the Ming Dynasty; even back then, workers at imperial factories criticized the deduction policies. When everything collapsed, they vanished into the annals of history.”
“As time moves on, the Chinese Communist Party is just changing its clothes and incorporating high technology. It’s nearing the end,” they added.