Shanghai city (Photo/Xinhua)

China’s per capita consumer spending increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to reach 10,330 yuan ($1,500) in the first half of 2019. Nine provinces and cities exceeded the level, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang and Guangdong, official data showed.

Shanghai outperformed other regions with per capita consumer spending of 22,513 yuan. Beijing ranked second with 21,134 yuan.

Five of the nine cities and provinces are located in the southeastern region of the country, which has a relatively large consumer market. They have taken various measures to stimulate consumption.

For instance, Guangdong has released an implementation plan, which relaxed policies regarding public auctions and the lottery system to grant car license plates for those who want to buy cars in the provincial capital Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Consumers from the above provinces and cities spent money more on services such as catering and tourism. In the first half of the year, service consumption contributed to 70.4 percent of Beijing’s economic growth.

The strong purchasing power is related to the increasing per capita disposable income of the residents in these provinces. China's per capita disposable income stood at 15,294 yuan ($4,165) in the first half of the year.