China's Consumer Market Keeps Upward TrendChina's consumer goods market continued to expand steadily in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.The country's retail sales of consumer goods reached 159.7 billion yuan (US$19.2 billion) in July, an increase of 9.1 per cent from the same month last year. The rate was 0.2 per cent higher than in June, the bureau said. "The expansion in consumption was mainly due to the improving economy and the fact that more people in China are confident about their future," said Zhang Xueying, an expert from the State Information Centre. China has been pursuing an active fiscal policy to stimulate both investment and consumption since the beginning of this year. The country's economy grew 8.2 per cent in the first half year. The central government's decision to set up a nationwide social security system further eased the fears of both rural and urban residents, Zhang said. According to the statistics bureau, the high temperatures in July made more people buy goods such as swimming suits, electric fans, air conditioners and drinks. The Ouya Shangdu Shopping Centre in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, sold more than 600 air conditioners a day. The sales of air conditioners in nine major shopping centres in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, grew 53 per cent in July compared with the same month last year. Consumers in Chengdu and Lanzhou had to wait for about one week before their air conditioners could be installed, the demand was so high. Retail enterprises, seeking to cash in on the increase in consumer spending, designed a series of promotions, the bureau said. One such promotion was the 10-day beer festival held on Beijing's Wangfujing Street, which helped increase the sale of beer by 30 per cent. Tianjin Quanyechang, which promised to provide interest free credit for one year on personal computers, increased PC sales by 120 per cent in July. The consumer goods market witnessed fierce competition in July, the bureau said. Both the automobile and the colour television sectors were wracked by price wars. The price of a 29-inch large-screen colour television dropped to below 2,000 yuan (US$241) in July. "The consumer goods market will continue to expand this year," Zhang Xueying said. Retail sales in urban areas rose 10.1 per cent to 161.9 billion yuan (US$19.5 billion) in July, and retail sales in rural areas rose only 7.5 per cent to 97.7 billion yuan (US$11.8 billion). According to Zhang, spending in rural areas grew relatively slowly due to some restrictive factors such as high prices and low product quality, which may hamper the further expansion of the consumer market. |
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