SCIO briefing on China's economic performance in August 2025

The Paper.cn:

How do you assess the performance of August's consumption data, and where do we see the impact of pro-consumption policies in the data? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

Thank you for your questions. Changes in consumption are indeed a topic of broad concern. Since the beginning of this year, regions and departments at all levels have resolutely implemented the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, deeply implementing the special initiatives to boost consumption. National subsidy funds have provided continuous support, interest subsidy policies have been precisely targeted, and a comprehensive package of policy measures has maintained momentum, promoting consumption growth and driving expansion and a structural optimization of market sales. From January to August, total retail sales of consumer goods increased 4.6% year on year, service retail sales grew 5.1%, and market sales showed a trend of continued expansion. Looking at the overall market sales situation in August, there are several key characteristics:

First, commodity consumption continued to grow. Under the combined influence of consumer goods trade-in programs and household consumption upgrades, commodity consumption continued to expand. In August, commodity retail sales gained 3.6% year on year, demonstrating steady growth momentum. Sales of goods supported by consumer goods trade-in programs showed strong growth momentum. In August, retail sales by enterprises above the designated size also showed year-on-year growth exceeding 10% across household appliances and audiovisual equipment, cultural and office supplies, and furniture. This significantly outpaced total goods retail sales growth, providing strong momentum for overall commodity sales. Meanwhile, rising living standards boosted demand for quality consumption, generating relatively strong sales growth for upgraded goods. In August, the retail sales of sports and recreational articles, gold, silver, and jewelry by enterprises above the designated size went up 16.9% and 16.8% year on year, respectively, further boosting overall commodity sales.

Second, service consumption growth remained stable. Concentrated summer demand for travel, tourism and leisure sports fueled continued strong growth in service consumption. From January to August, service retail sales increased 5.1% year on year, outpacing commodity retail sales growth. Integrated consumption formats like "Tourism+" and "Sports+" gained momentum. Supply of high-quality services continued to increase. Growth in travel, cultural and sports service retail sales registered a robust growth. From January to August, retail sales maintained double-digit growth across tourism consulting and rental services, transportation services, and cultural and sports services. August saw the national film box office rise 48.6% and movie attendance jump 66.9% year on year.

Third, new types of consumption showed positive development. Deep integration between digital technology and emerging consumption scenarios drove favorable development in online and new types of consumption. From January to August, national online retail sales increased by 9.6% year on year, outpacing overall consumer goods retail sales growth. Among them, online retail sales of physical goods increased 6.4%, accelerating 0.1 percentage point from the January-July period. Emerging sectors such as digital consumption, green consumption, and health consumption have become increasingly mature, continuously emerging as new growth drivers for consumption. Retail sales of new energy vehicles maintained rapid growth. In the first eight months, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles increased by more than 20% year on year.

Overall, under the combined influence of various consumption promotion policies, commodity consumption in August remained basically stable, and service consumption showed strong resilience. New types of consumption continued to grow, market space kept expanding, and the consumption expansion trend remained unchanged. However, it should also be noted that household consumption capacity and confidence still need to be improved, and the internal driving forces of consumption still need to be strengthened. Moving forward, we will further implement special initiatives to boost consumption, actively stabilize employment to promote income growth, improve the consumption environment, increase high-quality supply, better release consumption potential, and promote the stable development of the consumption market. Thank you.