China's consumption tax reform is a race against time

David Tingxuan Zhang is an analyst at Trivium China, a Beijing-based strategic advisory firm.

On March 11, China's Two Sessions concluded amid applause, with Beijing pledging "greater fiscal autonomy" for local governments through tax reform and setting an economic growth target of around 5%. Yet the ambition of these goals starkly contrasts with a quieter reality unfolding at construction sites across China. Where the relentless hum of machinery and clamor of workers once defined the landscape, now only anxious contractors and suppliers remain, awaiting long-overdue payments from local governments.