A glimpse of China with Sue: China’s consumer market continued to rebound in 2023

As one of the three engines of the Chinese economy, consumption was a vital force driving China’s economic recovery in 2023.

Last year, China saw a remarkable surge in total retail sales of consumer goods, reaching a record 47.15 trillion yuan, up 7.2 percent from the previous year, contributing a whopping 82.5% to economic growth.

Notably, there was a striking rebound of tourism evidenced by the barbecue craze in Shandong’s Zibo in the first half of the year, and the bustling tourism destination of Harbin which took great care of its visitors towards the end of the year.

As online consumption experienced rapid growth, physical retail stores also saw a steady recovery. In 2023, online retail sales of physical goods increased by 8.4 percent, accounting for 27.6 percent of total retail sales of consumer goods. Prioritizing expanding consumption, China has introduced a raft of policies to further stabilize the consumer market, and boost economic recovery.