China’s domestic trade has achieved the goals set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) with the consumption becoming the engine of economic growth for six consecutive years, data from Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) showed.
The goods distribution industry has become one of the most important of sources of China’s GDP, tax revenue and employment, said Zhou Qiang, director of the market development department of the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.
In 2019, the added value of wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, as well as residential services, repair and other services totaled 13.2 trillion yuan ($2 trillion), accounting for about 13 percent of GDP, second only to that of the manufacturing industry.
In 2019, the goods distribution industry contributed 2.5 trillion yuan of tax, accounting for nearly one sixth of the national tax revenue and employed more than 220 million people as a main channel to absorb employment.
The 13th Five-Year Plan period has also seen the rapid development of China’s online retail sector and upgrading of consumption structure with deepened integration of online and offline, giving rise to new technologies and business formats, Zhou said.
The online retail sales have increased by 174 percent from 3.88 trillion yuan in 2015 to 10.63 trillion yuan in 2019. Meanwhile, service consumption has accounted to nearly half of the total consumption expenditure of ordinary Chinese people in 2019 as consumers focus more on quality than quantity.
During China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) the country will continue to expand domestic consumption, promote the digitalization and cross-border fusion in internal trade, promote domestic and international dual circulation, Zhou said.
Customers select goods at the China Western Consumption Poverty Alleviation Center in Chongqing, southwest China, Oct. 31, 2020. The center, covering an area of 15,000 square meters, consists of 11 pavilions for China’s western provinces and autonomous regions, and 33 pavilions for Chongqing’s districts and counties. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)
