On board “silver train”, China’s pensioners make their piece to offset tariffs on Trump

Beijing insists that it will be solid before Donald Trump’s tariff on Chinese goods. He is trying to assure everyone that the country is strong, and the economy is stable enough to bring this last storm.

But this week, Chinese officials have recognized the potential of economic pain as a result of deployment of a trade war with the United States.

One option for politicians here is to try to increase the domestic consumption to replenish their lost income.

China has a mass population, and if they start buying more things, Chinese companies will not have to rely on trading abroad.

The key goal in this endeavor is pensioners with potentially decades.

Now the government wants them to spend some of them – for the benefit of the country.

And initiatives such as a “silver train” – which are specifically designed for elderly travelers – try to do this.

On board Star Express cocktails are poured out, and the karaoke microphone runs around when the pensioners party on the way through the southwestern province of Junnan China.

The roasted goose is devoured by the shots of Bajiu, the Chinese white spirit.

“We are all working hard all these years,” says 66-year-old Daniel Ling, who goes with a group of pensioners or retirees.

“It is important when we reach this age, it is to know what to do right – and it really enjoy life.”

The initiative hopes to turn the economic problem into an economic solution, giving the elderly fun avenues to spend more.

Families are not spent enough because they do not feel financially – the property crisis has reduced the value of their number one asset: their home. And the rise in unemployment also potentially made its work less safe.

Add the older population and low fertility to the mixture, and the pensioners grow every year, which makes it difficult to support them.

But what the retirees have is time and money to spend.

So, now they are provided with more opportunities to unravel special trains intended to deliver them to the sites they usually cannot visit – parts of the country further in need of financial shot.

“The main places where silver trains stop is underdeveloped rural districts or small cities with the struggle of the economy,” says D -R -Juan Juan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Tourism, who studies the potential influence of this plan.

“They will consume various products in trains, but after they reach the station, they will also visit tourist attractions and traditional villages.”

Baisha travelers stop at modest street kiosks at the bottom of the old, two -storey, wooden houses built by a local ethnic minority of NAKE.

One of them approaches the supplier who sells the barbecue with meat. They look delicious and she buys a bag. The husband’s husband, who also works in the stall says that this business is only a year and what they need to survive customers.

You can get potatoes with sharp sauce, lamb skewers, fresh orange juice and traditional Naxi clothing across the street.

This is a region in which the income is low, and most young people go away when they reach a certain age, because there are virtually no jobs for them.

It is also a difficult place to achieve many retirees, but these silver trains allow you to make it easy to plant and launch, as well as with employees to help, and get additional medical support as needed.

69 -year -old Lily, whose granddaughter accompanies her, says that the journey through her youth was melted: “When I was young, I really liked to study other places. Now I’m older, I have a family that can go with me.”

By the end of last year, 22% of China’s population over 60, making over 310 million.

So, if only the smallest percentage of China’s retirees got on a silver train, it can still mean millions of ticket sales. And Chinese rail authorities say they plan to drive 100 routes over the next three years.

Such trips alone are not going to fix China with low consumer costs. But economists would say that these steps are a step in the right direction.

Now the elderly have a much greater desire to travel compared to previous generations, creating “huge potential”, according to D -or Juan.

“Given that aging in China is now a reality that goes into the long run – what is unlikely canceled – we must find more opportunities from this rather than always turn it into a challenge.”

Returning to the train, the silver adventurers are ready to get out. And they can do it, knowing that their great day was – at least in part – for the benefit of everyone.

Then it is in the next city.