Consumption springs back to impressive growth

China's consumer market saw strong rebound during the Spring Festival holiday, with sales volume generated by key enterprises in retail sales and catering industries hitting 821 billion yuan ($127.3 billion), an increase of 28.7 percent year-on-year, CCTV News reported.

As online consumption potential vitalized, the retail sales from online channel exceeded 120 billion yuan in the first six days of the holiday, and around 480 million parcels were delivered across China, three times of the amount in comparison with the same period last year.

Special purchases and gifts for the Spring Festival, home electronics and fitness gadgets were most-bought items by Chinese consumers, while jewelries, clothing and cosmetics all witnessed surge in sales of over 100 percent from the previous year.

People's consumption choices also turned more diversified as living standards improved. Sales of automobiles, high-end daily necessities and pet products doubled year-on-year. Besides, orders for cleaning, maintenance and replacement of digital appliances also rose about 30 percent from a year earlier.

Consumption in service sector, including restaurants, entertainment industries and hotels, presented explosive growth during the holiday.

Online catering sales soared 135 percent from that of last year, and China's box office during the Spring Festival has exceeded 7.5 billion yuan as of Feb 17.

In response to the call of the government to stay put during Spring Festival, most Chinese people chose to celebrate the holiday in nearby hotels and local tourist attractions.

Gu Xueming, head of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, said China showed strong momentum for high-quality economic development with great potential in stimulating the country's consumption capability.

"The domestic circulation moves smoothly and effectively," he said.

The vitality that pushes forward China's economy lies in the huge domestic market and increasing upgrading consumption structure, which play a vital role in support of the new development pattern, Gu said.