Domestic market a golden opportunity(3)

People choose baking molds at the foreign trade commodity zone at a supermarket in Shijingshan district in Beijing on April 22. (LI WENMING/FOR CHINA DAILY)

More exporters are pivoting to the domestic market, and the trend fits with China's growing efforts to boost domestic demand. In the Government Work Report released in March, expanding consumption was listed as a top priority among this year's tasks, and various promotional activities are expected to be carried out nationwide throughout the year.

The commerce ministry, together with five other departments, launched the "Shopping in China "campaign on April 13, and this year stands as the inaugural year of the campaign.

As one of the latest activities of the campaign, the ministry and related entities organized an online shopping festival from April 28 to May 12, and the opening ceremony was held in East China's Wuxi, Jiangsu province. For the festival, more than 200 diverse activities were held in different regions, including an online shopping event targeting the sales of African products in Hunan province.

For the "Shopping in China" campaign, the commerce ministry encourages local governments to hold debut performances, exhibitions, and distinctive events in different forms and formats. Key pedestrian streets, commercial complexes, shopping malls, supermarkets and outlets are encouraged to launch promotions and high-quality new products, according to the guideline.

Different provinces and cities are encouraged to hold activities such as food markets and culinary exchanges, as well as publish recommendation lists and maps of delicious food, launch high-quality tourist routes, and organize domestic and international cultural performances, high-level sports events and museum exhibitions, the guideline said.

Boosted by multiple favorable policies, China's consumption market has indicated a trend of steady growth. In the first quarter, total retail sales of consumer goods in the country reached 12.47 trillion yuan, up 4.6 percent year-on-year. Catering revenue came in at 1.4 trillion yuan, growing 4.7 percent on a yearly basis, said the National Bureau of Statistics.