The retail sales of consumer goods in China rose 15 percent from
last year to 220 billion yuan (US$28.2 billion) during the
week-long Spring Festival holiday, said sources with the
Ministry of Commerce on Saturday.
Retail sales in the catering industry surged 18 percent over
last year's Spring Festival holiday. The figures for central Henan Province, northeastern Heilongjiang Province, and Beijing rose 22
percent, 25 percent, and 20 percent respectively.
Ninety-five percent of the restaurants in Beijing received
reservations for family reunion dinners during the holiday.
Meanwhile, high-end household electric appliances and digital
products were hot sellers in major cities.
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Sales of flat screen TV sets, including liquid crystal display
(LCD) sets and plasma screen sets, accounted for 90 percent of the
total sales of color TV sets in Beijing, while the sales of
high-end mobile phones soared 40 percent in GOME retail stores in
Chongqing.
Motorcycles priced between 3,000 yuan and 5,000 yuan sold well
in rural areas of central Hubei Province and eastern Jiangsu Province as more and more farmers
purchased vehicles to make New Year visits to relatives and
friends.
Farmers' consumption capability is on the rise, according to the
ministry. This is partly because China's rural cooperative medical
care system, under which the government helps fund farmers' medical
expenses, will cover 80 percent of counties this year and partly
because students in rural areas will be exempted from paying
tuition fees in the nine-year compulsory education.
China has three Golden Week holidays every year, which are the
Spring Festival holiday, May 1 Labor Day holiday and October 1
National Day holiday. The Chinese government launched Golden Week
holidays in 1999, in the hope of encouraging people to spend more
money for the benefit of economic growth.
In 2006, the retail sales of China's consumer goods rose 14.5
percent over that in 2005 to 300 billion yuan during the October
National Day holiday.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2007)