GUANGZHOU, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The southern Chinese city of Foshan has issued e-vouchers to boost consumption, following similar programs launched by several other Chinese cities to bail out the economy battered by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Starting from April, local residents and tourists can get the vouchers on Alibaba's online-payment service Alipay or an official application platform, and enjoy a cash rebate when making payments at offline shops.

The e-coupons worth 100 million yuan (about 14 million U.S. dollars) will be handed out in four rounds. In the first round, 300,000 coupons worth 30 million yuan will be issued and can be spent in brick-and-mortar stores in sectors including catering and tourism across the city.

In early March, Chinese authorities released a guideline aimed at boosting consumption and unleashing the potential of the domestic market to cushion the blow of the ongoing epidemic on economic activities.

A number of Chinese cities have answered the call by rolling out voucher programs including Ningbo, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, all in Zhejiang Province, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.