China’s Consumption Downgrade: Skip Avocados, Cocktails and Kids
不生孩子、不約會：中國迎來“消費降級”時代？
Chen Siqi doesn’t eat out so much anymore. Li Keli cut down on travel and takes her son to a public playground instead. Wang Jiazhi stopped dating. Welcome to China’s “consumption downgrade” culture, a potentially worrisome development for Beijing and the world.
陳思琦不怎么出去吃飯了。利可麗減少了旅游開支，轉而帶兒子去公共游樂場。王家志不再出去約會了。歡迎了解中國的“消費降級”文化，這一發展對北京和世界來說可能是一個令人擔憂的問題。
For years, the conversation in China was about “consumption upgrades.” As the economy took off, China’s middle class — now more than 400 million strong and still growing — decided to spend those bigger paychecks. It traded up from local brands to Nikes, from cheap phones to iPhones, from tea to $5 Starbucks lattes.
多年來，中國講的都是“消費升級”。隨著經濟起飛，中國的中產階級——如今超過4億人，并且仍在不斷增長——決定把自己增加的收入花出去。中產階級把國產牌子換成了耐克，便宜手機換成了iPhone，茶葉換成了5美元的星巴克拿鐵。

Today, China’s economy is slowing, and shopping has slowed with it. The stock market is slumping. China’s currency has lost some of its value. The trade war with President Trump has left many Chinese feeling pessimistic. China’s consumer culture has by no means ground to a halt. But in the streets and on the Chinese internet, the talk is about cutting back in ways big and small.
如今，中國的經濟正在放緩，消費也隨之降溫。股市暴跌。中國的貨幣貶值。與特朗普總統的貿易戰讓許多中國人感到悲觀。中國的消費文化并沒有停止。但在街頭和中國的互聯網上，人們談論的是從大大小小各個方面減少開支。
Quit avocado. Ride bikes instead of taxis. Drink beer instead of cocktails — and make sure that beer isn’t craft. Order a medium-size milk tea instead of a large. Give up the gym, and take up dancing in public squares like a grandmother. Some people joke about eating meat instead of tofu, as American tariffs have made imported soybeans more expensive. Perhaps most worrisome for China’s leaders, many young Chinese are increasingly reluctant to have children.
不吃牛油果。騎車而不是打車。喝啤酒，不喝雞尾酒——而且還不要精釀啤酒。點中杯奶茶，不點大杯。放棄健身房，像大媽那樣去跳廣場舞。一些人開玩笑說要用吃肉替代豆腐，因為美國關稅已經讓進口大豆變得更加昂貴。可能對中國領導人來說最為憂心的，就是年輕中國人越來越不愿生孩子。
A Chinese consumption downgrade could be felt around the world. Chinese spenders have been a key driver of their country’s economic growth in recent years. China, in turn, has played a major role in global growth. On paper, the Chinese economy looks strong. Look closer, and the cracks begin to show. Retail sales this year have grown at their slowest pace in more than a decade. Wages in the private sector are growing at their slowest pace since the global financial crisis. The stock market has fallen by one-fifth.
世界各地都能感受到中國的消費降級。近年來，中國的消費者一直是中國經濟增長的主要動力。而中國也在全球增長中發揮重要作用。表面上看，中國經濟看起來很強勁。仔細看，裂縫開始顯現。今年的零售額增長速度為十多年來最緩慢的。私營部門的工資增長速度為自全球金融危機以來最慢。股票市場下跌了五分之一。