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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 19, 2001

China Embraces Booming Duty-Free Shop Business

China's duty-free goods sales are increasing rapidly. successfully joined the world duty-free market by setting up long-term and stable links with more than 100 name-brand goods producers, it plays a more and more importand role in the market both at home and abroad.


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Rankign among the World's Top 20

China's duty-free goods sales are increasing rapidly, and the figures now rank among the world's top 20, according to industry sources.

Chinese-manufactured commodities currently account for 15 percent of the total sales volume in China's duty-free shops, according to the China Duty-Free Goods Group Company, the state-authorized exclusive operator of duty-free shops since 1984.

Playing an Important Role in Market

Duty-free shops first appeared in China in 1979. China now has about 150 such shops, located mainly in major entry-exit port cities across the country.

The shops offer duty-free goods mainly for overseas tourists, sailors, foreign diplomatic officials, visiting foreign experts, journalists and foreign officials of Chinese offices of foreign companies.

The duty-free sector has generated foreign exchange of over 2 billion U.S. dollars over the past 20-plus years, and its annual revenue reached 200 million U.S. dollars last year.

China's duty-free business has successfully joined the world duty-free market by setting up long-term and stable links with more than 100 name-brand goods producers both at home and abroad.



Sources from the national duty-free trades working conference say that China will open more new duty-free shops within three years in Shanghai, Dalian, Qingdao and Xiamen in the coastal areas.



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