Localities gear up for consumption events

Tourists ski at Yuehai Ski Resort in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Dec. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

As 2024 draws to a close, regions in China are implementing a range of initiatives designed to boost consumer spending in preparation for the upcoming New Year's Day and Spring Festival in 2025. These efforts encompass promotional activities and the distribution of vouchers for cultural events, tourism, cinema, and dining experiences.

Starting Wednesday, the bustling Nanjing Road shopping district in Shanghai kicked off a grand promotional campaign, distributing an impressive 21 million yuan ($2.87 million) in discount coupons to spark excitement for New Year shopping, Laodong Daily reported.

On December 21, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region launched a campaign to boost consumption by integrating cultural tourism with local products. This event highlights 14 popular scenic spots, showcasing unique cultural and agricultural products alongside tourism-related goods, China Tourism News reported.

On December 20, South China's Guangdong Province initiated a winter consumption promotion event, with a particular focus on gift shopping for the Spring Festival and festive gatherings, creating a lively atmosphere throughout the province, ycwb.com reported.

Central China's Hubei Province launched a film promotion event for the first time on December 20. Running until October 2025, this event will provide a total of 26 million yuan in movie vouchers to encourage residents to engage in cinematic experiences, with ticket prices as low as 19.9 yuan, Hubei Daily reported.

In Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, an ice and snow culture-themed culture and tourism event commenced on December 14. This event aims to effectively utilize the region's snow and ice resources and, in conjunction with consumption coupons, provide a diverse shopping experience for travelers, chinanews.com reported.

Tian Yun, an economist based in Beijing told the Global Times on Wednesday that recent consumption-boosting events align with the goal to boost consumption in 2025. He anticipates more such activities in the coming year as governments at various levels step up efforts to enhance consumption.

Outlining a number of key tasks for 2025, the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) urged efforts to vigorously boost consumption, improve investment efficiency, and expand domestic demand on all fronts.

A special campaign dedicated to stimulating consumption should be implemented, and efforts should be made to increase the incomes, alleviate the burdens of low- and middle-income groups, and increase the ability, willingness, and level of consumption, the meeting noted.

Large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs should be promoted with greater intensity and scope, and active efforts should be made to develop debut economy, ice and snow economy, and silver economy, according to the meeting.

In line with the priorities set by the CEWC, the national fiscal work conference concluded on Tuesday and also prioritized supporting expanding domestic demand in 2025. Among the efforts, China will appropriately increase the basic pension for retirees and for urban and rural residents, and raise the fiscal subsidy standard for urban and rural residents' medical insurance to vigorously boost consumption.

Driven by subsidies under the trade-in program, retail sales of household appliances and audiovisual equipment, furniture, and automobiles increased 22.2 percent, 10.5 percent, and 6.6 percent year-on-year in November, respectively, becoming a major contributor to overall consumption growth, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Tian said that there is growing interest in buying smart home appliances and electric vehicles. Increased government subsidies for trade-ins are likely to drive a new wave of purchases in these areas.

Looking ahead to 2025, more measures are needed to boost consumption, which has become an important engine driving China's economic growth, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

As demand for high-quality goods and services grows, upgrading consumption structures and optimizing the consumption environment are crucial. Promoting new retail models, e-commerce and live-streaming sales will play a significant role in meeting personalized and diverse consumer needs, fostering a robust consumption landscape, Yang said.

Across the board, retail sales of consumer goods in China rose 3.5 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of this year, outpacing that for the third quarter, NBS data shows.