China moves to boost duty-free consumption

BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China is mulling measures to boost duty-free consumption, as a way of driving consumer spending. 

The country will improve policies for setting up duty-free stores in downtown areas, build more such stores at airports, and adjust duty-free quotas and types of duty-free products in due time, according to an implementation guideline on promoting consumption at larger scale and with higher quality jointly released in March by 23 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the People's Bank of China.

In the meantime, many authorities encourage cities with development strengths to provide financing and land use support for the construction and operation duty-free stores in downtown areas.  Cities and provinces vow to promote the development of duty-free retail sector.

For example, Beijing made it clear to optimize the layout of duty-free stores at airports and in its downtown areas, and develop high-quality products for duty-free channels. South China's Hainan province will ease the limitations on duty-free shopping with the quota to be raised from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person per year, and provide more categories of duty-free commodities, according to the master plan for Hainan free trade port released on June 1.  

The favorable polices will further unleash the potential of domestic duty-free retail industry. The annual duty-free sales in China was over 50 billion yuan at the end of last year. It is expected to exceed 150 billion yuan in 2025 and hit more than 200 billion yuan in the long run, according to a research report by China Securities, a securities broker in China.

The prospect for China's duty-free retail market is broad, as Chinese consumers' demand for imported daily necessities and luxury goods is getting huger, and inbound tourists are spending more in a opener Chinese market, said Guan Lixin, deputy director with the circulation and consumption research institute of Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under MOC. (Edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, silviasu07@163.com)