China's wholesale, retail sectors log steady growth in Q1

BEIJING -- China's wholesale and retail sectors posted steady growth in the first quarter of 2026, providing solid support for building a strong domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce said Monday.

From January to March, the added value of China's wholesale and retail trade grew 4.1 percent year-on-year to 3.5 trillion yuan (about $510.4 billion), accounting for 10.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the ministry.

In the wholesale sector, the transaction volume of key commodity markets monitored by the ministry rose 8.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. Among them, transaction volumes in markets for production materials and industrial consumer goods increased 16.1 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.

In the retail sector, retail sales of goods reached 11.3 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 2.2 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.

Online retail also maintained rapid growth in rural areas. In the first quarter, online retail sales in rural areas rose 11 percent year-on-year, while online retail sales of agricultural products increased 14.7 percent.

The consumer goods trade-in program also continued to gain traction. Smart glasses, which were made eligible for subsidies for the first time this year, have emerged as a new highlight. Driven by the policy, key enterprises saw sales of smart glasses in the first quarter rise 42.4 percent in volume and 46.8 percent in value year-on-year.