China's consumer market has ranked as the world's second largest during the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for socioeconomic development, with total retail sales of consumer goods expected to exceed 50 trillion yuan (about seven trillion U.S. dollars) this year.

Consumption has contributed approximately 60 percent to China's annual economic growth on average, and a larger, higher-quality consumer market is providing strong support for China's high-quality economic development.

China's total retail sales of consumer goods increased from 39.1 trillion yuan (5.45 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2020 to 48.3 trillion yuan (6.73 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2024, representing an average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent.

In comparison with the United States, China's total retail sales last year were approximately 80 percent of the U.S. figure in nominal terms. In terms of actual purchasing power, the figure was equivalent to about 1.6 times that of the United States, based on data and algorithm provided by the World Bank.

Moreover, China has retained the title of the world's largest online retail market for 12 consecutive years, and automobile sales have remained the No.1 globally for 16 years. China also continue to hold leading positions worldwide in many market segments.

Quality consumption has also become increasingly accessible to everyday households. In the current trade-in program sponsored by the government, for example, retail sales of home appliances by enterprises above the designated size have maintained double-digit growth since September last year. In the first half of this year, half of all cars sold nationwide were new energy vehicles (NEVs). Approximately 400 million purchases have benefited from government subsidies so far.

Even more impressive than product consumption is the growth of the service consumption sector. Between 2020 and 2024, annual spending on services by Chinese residents increased by 9.6 percent on average. Today, for every 10 yuan spent by consumers, roughly 4.6 yuan goes toward services.

With new business models and consumption scenarios emerging rapidly to meet evolving consumer preferences, China's consumption engine continues to demonstrate strong momentum, playing an increasingly vital role in fueling the country's high-quality economic development.