China's internet platforms are quietly reviving consumer lending, taking Beijing's push to make household borrowing cheaper as a signal that regulators may be easing a years-long crackdown on the sector, four industry sources said.

Beijing began reining in what it described as "disorderly expansion" by internet platforms in 2020 by pulling the IPO of Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group, followed by business restructuring orders and fines on Ant and others.

In August, however, needing to spur weak consumption while managing a trade dispute with Washington, China introduced consumer-loan interest subsidies, naming Ant and Tencent-backed WeBank alongside traditional banks as eligible lenders.

Internet platforms read the move, and earlier high-level meetings between Chinese leaders and prominent p

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