New Delhi, April 27 -- Wu Jingliang, a human resources manager in Beijing, got a raise at the beginning of the year, and the first financial move her family made was to increase their monthly savings rate.

"I don't dare spend, because I have a child. The child will need schooling later, and then there's marriage or buying a home-we definitely need to save up a sum of money for him," she told Barron's in a phone interview.

Conversations with other Chinese consumers revealed similar caution, all relating to feelings of financial insecurity.

Beijing keeps rolling out consumption stimulus, and Chinese consumers keep responding with less enthusiasm than policymakers hoped. Appliance trade-ins can boost sales for a quarter. Tourism vouchers ...