(TibetanReview.net, Jul13’25) – China’s economy continues to be in dire strait after being crippled by the 2020 Covid pandemic and now harried by US President Donald Trump’s tariff strangulation of its export industry, going by at least three most recent indications: luxury hotels seeing street food for survival, a Chinese province allowing officials to pursue side jobs after salary and benefit cuts, and the visa-free entry policy being extended to 74 countries.
In July, the five-star Zhongwu Hotel in Changzhou, Jiangsu province – ranked second among 10 luxury hotels in the city on Trip.com – surprised observers when it launched a street vendor service offering budget meal boxes prepared by its catering team, reported the scmp.com Jul 13.
“You must first solve the problem of survival. If you can’t even solve your own problems, what else can you talk about?” Chen Yonghua, Zhongwu Hotel’s manager, has said.
The report said the decision reflected a sluggish business environment for China’s high-end hospitality sector, as cautious consumers tighten their belts amid concerns about a slowing economy.
Hotel House, a Chinese data provider offering insights on hotels, has said the average room rate in mainland China was 118 yuan in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 9.7%. Occupancy fell to 58.8%, a 2.5% decline year-on-year.
Catering services – another pillar of hotel revenue – are also shrinking. Data from the Beijing Hotay Grand Ceremony Hotel showed that in 2024, full-service upscale hotels earned an average of 10.21 million yuan (US$1.4 million) from catering – down from the 12.37 million yuan recorded in 2023 and a 38.3% decline from 2019, the report noted.
Traditional banquet bookings at Zhongwu Hotel has fallen 65.7% year-on-year, Chen has said.
In megacities like Shanghai and Beijing, the fine dining sector has suffered a severe downturn in the past few years. High-end restaurants have closed one after another as diners tighten their budgets, the report said.
On Jul 9, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily praised the initiative to set up street vendors, calling it a “proactive attempt by businesses to revitalise idle resources”.
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Meanwhile, China’s sluggish economy has pushed local authorities to cut salaries and bonuses, with one southern province having told officials they could pursue side jobs, saying it is OK to be a part-time driver, novelist or fitness coach, reported Reuters Jul 11.
As long as there is no conflict of interest, one’s supervisor is aware, and there are no time-management issues, staff of government agencies can deliver food after work, earn royalties from novels, offer gym classes or even sell farm produce, the official newspaper of Hunan province was cited as saying.
However, the officials have been warned against using public resources to make a quick buck, which would be an abuse of one’s power for personal gain.
“All this suggests government employees are going to have a hard time,” a user on Chinese social media has said.
Financial hardship among Chinese households has risen in recent years as the world’s second-largest economy stumbled from its exit from three years of costly zero-Covid disruptions, with the impact felt even among government staff, once thought to hold unbreakable “iron rice bowl” jobs, the report noted.
China’s fiscal revenue was stated to have slowed sharply last year, up just 1.3% compared with a 6.4% jump in 2023, denting government coffers. Revenue from land auctions by local governments to developers reportedly slumped 16%, amid a protracted real estate downturn.
The report said a few provincial authorities had cut bonuses and salaries. Some civil servants have even said they had not been paid for months. Surviving on savings and borrowings, many were stated to be already working multiple jobs on the side.
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On one positive development, China has expressed satisfaction over the fact that the country is seeing a surge in the number of foreign tourists after loosening its visa policies. Citizens from 74 countries can now enter China visa-free for up to 30 days – a major expansion aimed at boosting tourism, the economy of China, and soft power.
Over 20 million foreign visitors entered China without a visa in 2024. This was more than double the previous year and nearly one-third of total international arrivals, the ndtv.com Jul 8 cited China’s National Immigration Administration as saying.
The country began reopening to tourists in 2023 after lifting Covid-19 restrictions, but visitor numbers remained low at 13.8 million which was less than half the 31.9 million in 2019.
It then began offering visa-free access for travellers from France, Germany, Italy, and other European nations not black-listed by it in late 2023. More countries kept on being added due to the success of the measure. By Jul 16, Azerbaijan will bring the total to 75 visa-free countries, though most are on a one-year trial basis, the report noted.
Tourism professionals are preparing for a surge. Companies like WildChina report significant growth. Managing Director Jenny Zhao said business is up 50% since before the pandemic, with European travellers now comprising up to 20% of clientele – a sharp rise from less than 5% in 2019, the report cited sources as saying.