China guarantees market supply, promotes holiday consumption during Spring Festival

China's State Council Information Office (SCIO) held a press conference Friday on ensuring market supply and promoting consumption during the Spring Festival.

The Chinese Spring Festival of 2025 marks the first celebration following the successful inclusion of the Chinese New Year in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the designation of New Year's Eve as a legal holiday, and ensuring market supply and promoting consumption during this festive season holds great significance for China.  

China's Ministry of Commerce, as the lead agency for implementing consumer goods trade-in programs, has introduced a series of measures that have delivered tangible benefits to consumers. As per the briefing, as of January 23, over 1 million units of home appliances have been purchased through the nation's trade-in program in 2025. The remarkable success of China's trade-in program was highlighted by Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping at a press conference on Friday.  

China's service consumption is also undergoing expansion and upgrades. A range of policy measures has been implemented to further open up the service sector, to continously meet the growing demands of consumers. Increasingly, audiences are traveling to cities inspired by performances, games, or drama.  

China's new consumption drivers are gaining momentum, with the nation deeply exploring new consumption potential, implementing initiatives to boost digital consumption, and advancing the high-quality development of rural e-commerce, Sheng Qiuping said, adding that the consumption environment in China is also steadily improving. In 2024, the number of inbound foreign visitors to five international consumer cities—Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing—almost doubled compared to the previous year, he stated.

China has strengthened supply organization, adjusted reserves, ensured convenient services, and focused on key areas during Chinese Spring Festival, said Li Gang, director general of the Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce. He added that the market for essential goods nationwide is well-supplied, with prices remaining generally stable ahead of the festival, according to official data monitoring.

China is also witnessing the sustained popularity of winter sports. From November 1, 2024, to January 19, 2025, the number of skiing visits in China's seven northern provinces and regions rose by 27.5 percent year-on-year, reported Yang Xuedong, director general of the Sports Economy Department of the General Administration of Sport of China. China unveiled national winter sports consumption initiatives for 2024-2025, offering discounts on ski tickets and transportation to further meet public demand for winter sports and stimulate consumer activity last Saturday.