A view of the 2025 Beijing International Cultural and Tourism Consumption Expo on June 20, 2025. The event showcases new products and emerging scenarios across the cultural and tourism industries. Nearly 500 exhibitors from China and around the world are participating. Photo: Li Hao/GT

China's consumption market maintained steady growth in the first half of 2025, reinforcing its role as a key pillar of the national economy, said an official from China's Ministry of Commerce on Monday.

During the first six months of 2025, China's online retail sales of physical goods expanded 6.0 percent year-on-year, accounting for 24.9 percent of total retail sales, as emerging consumption trends such as "IP + consumption" and "AI + consumption" became increasingly popular among young people, said the official.

And, China's efforts to build international consumption hubs and improve foreign tourists' tax refund have begun to yield results, said the official. According to a statement from Chinese retailer JD.com, overseas tourists can enjoy the tax refund policy across over 100 authorized stores in 39 cities in China after making an eligible purchase of 200 yuan or more in a single store on the same day while they present valid identification.

Data from China's State Taxation Administration showed that the departure tax refund transactions in the first half of 2025 nearly doubled, growing 94.6 percent year-on-year. The retailer's data shows that portable digital products such as smartphones, laptops, smartwatches, drones, and robotic vacuum cleaners have proven particularly popular with international customers.

In terms of China's domestic retail sale, the nationwide consumer goods trade-in program continued to bear fruit, largely lifting sales of home appliances, communication devices, office equipment, and furniture by enterprises above the designated size. Passenger car sales rose 10.8 percent year-on-year, signaling a robust rebound in big-ticket items consumption, said the ministry official.

In the first half of the year, domestic service consumption gained further traction as China's cultural and tourism sectors gained pace. During the 2025 May Day holiday, domestic tourist trips reached 314 million, up 6.4 percent, with total spending growing 8 percent to hit 180.3 billion yuan. During the period, total box office revenue exceeded 29.2 billion yuan, up over 20 percent, and concert ticket sales soaring by around 40 percent year-on-year, according to MOFCOM.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 24.55 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, up 5.0 percent year-on-year — a 1.5-percentage point acceleration compared to 2024. Domestic consumption contributed 52 percent of GDP growth, reaffirming its position as the primary driver of the economy.

The consumer market has maintained steady growth in the first half of 2025, providing strong support for reinforcing the domestic economic cycle and promoting sustained economic growth, said the official.

Global Times