Qingdao, Shandong launches a year-long campaign to stimulate consumption. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Qingdao, Shandong will launch a year-long campaign to stimulate consumption, with over a thousand events to be organized this year, aiming to speed up the recovery of the consumer market.

The Ministry of Commerce has designated 2024 as the "Consumption Promotion Year," and Qingdao will plan over a thousand events to promote the integration of business, travel, culture, sports, health, and online and in-person activities.

According to the city's commerce bureau, Qingdao will introduce a three-year action plan to develop the city into an international consumer center. Measures to support the promotion of consumption in the commerce and trade circulation industry will be implemented, with a focus on boosting traditional bulk consumption of goods such as automobiles and home appliances.

Encouragement will be given to various districts and cities to carry out activities such as trade-ins for automobiles, home appliances, and smart electronic products, as well as organize activities to promote new energy vehicles in rural areas, advocating for green and environmentally-friendly consumption concepts, and stimulating residents' consumption enthusiasm.

This year, Qingdao will also vigorously develop digital consumption, green consumption, and healthy consumption, actively fostering new consumption growth points such as smart homes, cultural and entertainment tourism, sports events, the "silver economy," and trendy domestic products. It aims to introduce over 60 domestic and foreign retail, catering, and flagship stores throughout the year.

Since last year, Qingdao has prioritized the recovery and expansion of consumption, which has led to innovative consumption scenarios and the sustained recovery of the consumer market.

In 2023, the city's total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 630 billion yuan ($87.52 billion) for the first time, growing by 7.3 percent year-on-year and ranking second among northern cities. Wholesale, retail, and catering industries in the city grew by 13.1 percent, 12.3 percent, and 28.1 percent, respectively, with the growth rates of wholesale and retail outperforming the province's average by 6.7 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. The commercial trade industry accounted for 19.7 percent of the GDP, accounting for over 30 percent of the city's GDP growth.