Shopping initiative to catalyze inbound demand

As China is poised to deepen its efforts to attract inbound consumption via the "Shopping in China" initiative in 2026, analysts said these measures are not just a near-term growth lever but a structural catalyst for the country's evolution as a more open and high-quality consumer market.

Their comments came after Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, said earlier this month that China still has ample room to expand inbound consumption.

Speaking at an event held by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, Han called for improving the inbound consumption environment and building the "Shopping in China" brand.

The shopping campaign, which was launched in April, is aimed at creating an internationally friendly consumption environment and enhancing the country's appeal as a consumption hub through measures such as streamlining visa procedures and improving departure tax refund arrangements.

Cheng Shi, chief economist at ICBC International, said that "Shopping in China" represents a structural upgrade of China's consumption system — from one primarily driven by domestic demand to one where domestic and international consumption reinforce each other.

"With visa facilitation, flight recovery and the normalization of cross-border travel, the expansion of inbound consumption now has a solid foundation," he said. "Its significance lies not only in directly boosting retail and services demand, but also in raising overall consumption quality and standards."

Cheng pointed out that inbound consumers tend to place high demand on product quality, brand diversity, service standards and convenience, pushing domestic commercial systems to accelerate alignment with international practices in areas such as payments, tax refunds, language services and information transparency.

These improvements will ultimately benefit local consumers, creating spillover effects to help unlock domestic demand, he added.

Analysts said that in the short term, the "Shopping in China" initiative can also serve as a new economic growth driver.

"Inbound tourism consumption is an important part of aggregate demand for many developed and developing economies. It is almost an untapped source of growth for China, which has many world-class tourist attractions and domestic services to offer," said Johnny Yu, a macro strategist at Wellington Management.

Besides helping China narrow service trade deficits, Yu said the "Shopping in China" initiative can also improve the global image of China and Chinese brands, which is critical to reducing misunderstandings and biases toward the world's second-largest economy.

The policy effect is already noticeable. According to the Ministry of Commerce, in the first eight months of 2025, nationwide departure tax refund sales nearly doubled year-on-year, while the number of tax refund stores surpassed 10,000 as of the end of August.

Looking ahead, Stella Li, investment director of China equities at Aberdeen Investments, said that policy consistency such as simplified visa rules and infrastructure accessibility, including tax refund systems and quality lodging, will be critical to delivering a seamless and attractive consumer experience.