The head of the Consumption Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce discusses the state of China's consumption market in September 2025

Since the beginning of this year, various levels of business authorities have earnestly implemented the decisions and deployments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, deeply carrying out special actions to boost consumption, promoting the replacement of old consumer goods with new ones, advancing the high-quality development of service consumption, and conducting a series of "Buy in China" activities, continuously releasing diversified consumption potential. In September, the overall operation of the consumer market remained stable, with the main characteristics as follows: First, the role of consumption as the main engine has become more prominent. In September, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4.20 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.0%. In the first three quarters, the total retail sales reached 36.59 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.5%, with the growth rate accelerating by 1.0 percentage points compared to the entire last year; per capita consumption expenditure of residents was 21,600 yuan, an increase of 4.6%; the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 53.5%. Second, the replacement of old consumer goods with new ones continues to show results. In September, retail sales of goods increased by 3.3%, with sales of related products for replacement maintaining rapid growth, among which retail sales of communication equipment, furniture, and cultural office supplies in units above designated size increased by 16.2%, 16.2%, and 6.2%, respectively. The retail volume of passenger cars was 2.241 million units, an increase of 6.3%. As of October 22, the number of applications for the 2025 automobile replacement subsidy exceeded 10 million. Third, service consumption maintained rapid growth. In the first three quarters, service retail sales increased by 5.2%, with the growth rate 0.6 percentage points faster than that of goods retail sales. Among them, retail sales of cultural and recreational services, communication information services, tourism consulting and leasing services, and transportation services achieved double-digit growth. The proportion of residents' service consumption expenditure in total consumption expenditure was 46.8%. Fourth, new types of consumption such as smart and green consumption continue to grow. According to the Ministry of Commerce's big data, in September, sales of smart wearable devices and robotic vacuum cleaners increased by more than 15%, and sales of energy-saving dishwashers and organic food increased by over 10%. According to data from the Automobile Circulation Association, retail sales of new energy passenger cars reached 1.296 million units, an increase of 15.5%, with a penetration rate of 57.8%. Fifth, the scale of inbound consumption continues to expand. Policies such as expanding the visa-free range and optimizing the tax refund for departure are working together, and the popularity of "China tours" and "China purchases" continues to rise. According to data from the National Immigration Administration, in the third quarter, the number of foreign visitors entering and exiting the country reached 20.134 million, an increase of 22.3%, among which the number of visa-free foreign visitors was 7.246 million, an increase of 48.3%