China’s high household savings reflect old values and new anxieties

My grandmother kept her banknotes under the mattress. Even after savings accounts became common and the money my siblings and I gave her began to accumulate, she still preferred to hide cash away at home. She loved saving and hated spending. I thought of her when China’s leaders again emphasised the need to boost domestic consumption at this year’s “two sessions” meetings. With exports facing geopolitical headwinds and the property sector struggling, policymakers hope households will become a...