Abstract
In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the consumption level of urban and rural residents in China has been greatly improved, and the contribution of consumption to economic growth has also been steadily improved. However, the difference of consumption level between urban and rural residents has been widening year by year, which has seriously affected the development process of urban-rural integration in China. Based on the data from 1978 to 2019 of the National Bureau of statistics, this paper analyzes the importance of consumption for economic development since China's reform and opening up, and studies the differences in the consumption level of urban and rural residents. Finally, at the critical moment of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, it puts forward policy suggestions on how to reduce the consumption level of urban and rural residents.