BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- China's recent online shopping festival, initiated by several government departments, saw sales hit 182.51 billion yuan (about 25.72 billion U.S. dollars), an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday.
The festival was part of the country's efforts to expand domestic consumption and blunt the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic on its economy, which contracted 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter.
More than 1 million online shops and 115 e-commerce companies took part in the festival, the second of its kind, selling a great variety of quality goods ranging from agricultural products to electronic devices, Gao Feng, spokesperson for the MOC, told a regular press briefing.
The festival helped drive the country's online retail sales up 20.8 percent year on year to top 430 billion yuan during the period, Gao said.
China is pinning more hopes on domestic consumption to revive its economy as the prolonged coronavirus pandemic worldwide depressed external demand.
Running from April 28 to May 10, the festival was jointly launched by the MOC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Post Bureau and the China Consumers Association. Enditem
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