A staff member (L) provides the departure tax refund service for a tourist from South Korea at a shopping plaza in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, April 11, 2025.（Photo: Xinhua)

In the first half of the year, China's sales under the tax-refund-upon-departure policy surged by 94.6 percent year-on-year, with "Shopping in China" becoming a buzzword, He Yadong, spokesperson from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said on Thursday.

He made the remarks when sharing the highlights of the development of the international consumption center cities. According to He, in July 2021, the State Council approved Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing to take the lead in developing international consumption hub cities, and this year marked the 4th anniversary. 

He noted that the total retail sales of consumer goods in the five cities account for more than one-eighth of the national total, with imports of consumer goods comprising over half and tax refund sales representing about 70 percent.

The five cities have focused on enhancing payment convenience, optimizing departure tax refund services, and actively creating an international-friendly consumption environment. Particularly since the country introduced a package of measures to optimize its departure tax refund policy in April, the total number of departure tax refund stores in Beijing and Shanghai has exceeded 1,400 each, while Guangzhou has surpassed 500, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that the five cities have also vigorously promoted new forms of consumption, such as digital, green, and health-related consumption, while actively advancing the "debut economy" to drive consumption quality upgrades. 

Over the past four years, they have introduced 12,000 first stores of domestic and international brands, attracting numerous globally renowned brands for their debuts, launches, and exhibitions.

In addition, the cities have enhanced their functionality and vibrancy. On one hand, they benchmark against globally renowned cities, strengthening commercial space planning and creating iconic business districts with international influence. On the other hand, they focus on the daily consumption needs of residents, accelerating the development of the so-called "15-minute life circles," He said.

The ministry will continue to deepen the development of international consumption hub cities, create an internationalized consumption environment, expand high-quality consumption supply and innovate diverse consumption scenarios, striving to build cities with thriving commerce, vibrant markets, and satisfied residents, the spokesperson noted.



Global Times