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DOMESTIC TRADE


  Basic Conditions of Domestic Trade
  Trade of Consumable Markets in Urban and Rural Areas
  Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods by Location of Retailers
  Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods by Sector

 

Sales of consumer goods at domestic market increased steadily. In 2002, the total retail sales of consumer goods topped 4 trillion yuan to reach 4.09 trillion yuan, up 8.8 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 2.59 trillion yuan, up 10 percent, and those at and below county level were 1.5 trillion yuan, up 6.8 percent. In terms of different sectors, the sales of the wholesale and retail industries reached 2.79 trillion yuan, up 9.2 percent; the catering industry, 509.2 billion yuan, up 16.6 percent; and other industries, 795.9 billion yuan, up 3.2 percent. The real growth of total retail sales of consumer goods was 10.2 percent if price factor was taken into consideration.

New hotspots took shape in the consumption of telecommunications, motor vehicles and related products, and the sales of household electric and electronic appliances remained brisk. The total retail sales of telecommunication equipment by wholesale and retail enterprises above designated size rose by 69.2 percent over the previous year; motor vehicles, by 73 percent; and electric and electronic appliances for household use, by 14.6 percent.

The China General Chamber of Commerce issued a white paper on China's retail industry in 2002 at the end of the year. The paper stressed that foreign capital is accelerating its entry into China's retail market. Since the founding of the first Sino-foreign retail joint venture, Shanghai-Yaohan, in 1992, 18 of the world top 200 retailers have entered China. Foreign-invested retail businesses mainly distribute in large and medium-sized cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Jinan, Wuhan, Chongqing and Tianjin. Statistics show that in 2002, China approved another eight foreign-invested retail enterprises, including investments from Carrefour and Auchan from France, Jusco from Japan and B&Q from Britain, as well as the President Group from Taiwan and the China Resources from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The number of registered trademarks kept growing in 2002. In the 20 years since the implementation of the Trademark Law, the number of trademarks registered in China increased from 90,000 in 1983 to 1.66 million in 2002.