2024 International consumption season and 5th Shanghai 'Double Five shopping festival' kick off

The 2024 International consumption season and the 5th Shanghai "Double Five shopping festival" officially kicked off on Saturday. The event is jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Media Group (CMG), and the Shanghai Municipal Government.

Chen Jining, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and CMG President Shen Haixiong jointly launched the event.

The opening ceremony of the third International Consumption Center City Forum was also held at the same time. Wang Wentao and Shen Haixiong made keynote speeches. The opening ceremony was hosted by Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping, and Hua Yuan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Shanghai Municipal Committee and deputy mayor of Shanghai, also gave a speech. 

Wang said that the development of international consumption center cities has achieved remarkable results. In 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing increased 8.4 percent year-on-year, which is 1.2 percentage points higher than the national growth rate. He emphasized that international consumption center cities should play a better role in setting examples, continuously consolidate the good momentum of consumption recovery, seek impetus from innovation, seek vitality from openness, and promote high-quality development.

Shen stated that as the world's largest comprehensive international media in terms of scale, business forms, and coverage, CMG has given full play to its media resources and brand advantages to actively support the construction of international consumption center cities and promote economic and social development, continuously enhance the global awareness and reputation of Chinese brands, and powerfully promote the positive narrative of the Chinese economy. For five consecutive years, CMG has joined hands with the Ministry of Commerce and local governments to innovatively carry out activities such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Consumption Season and the Greater Bay Area Consumption Season. It will continue to work closely with all parties to create more city carnivals with an "international style."

Hua said that the construction of Shanghai as an international consumption center city has achieved remarkable results in recent years. In 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Shanghai reached 1.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.6 percent, setting a new historical record and maintaining the top position among all cities in China.

The 2024 International consumption season is one of the four major thematic activities of "Consumption Promotion Year." It will gather global consumption products, enhance the linkage between supply and demand resources, and promote the deep integration of commerce, tourism, culture, sports, and health. It will be organized and carried out nationwide from May to December.

The 5th Shanghai "Double Five shopping festival" will last until the end of June. It will focus on new consumption, service consumption, automobile consumption and green consumption, with over 1,000 activities expected to be carried out.

(Cover image via CMG)