Ministry of Commerce: will launch optimized departure tax refund 2.0 measures

On March 30th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the relevant information of the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "Expo").

Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping stated that the 6th Consumer Expo will be held in Hainan Province from April 13th to 18th this year. This year's Consumer Expo is not only the "first exhibition" of major exhibitions in China in the first year of the "15th Five Year Plan", but also the "first show" after the closure of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Compared with previous editions, this year's Consumer Expo has three main highlights: firstly, it closely follows the "international" trend and gathers global consumer goods; The second is to focus on "quality products" and enrich the supply of high-quality consumption; The third is to highlight the "debut" and lead the consumer trend.

This year's Government Work Report proposes to optimize the inbound consumption environment and create the "Buy in China" brand. Regarding this, Sheng Qiuping introduced that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will conscientiously implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and continue to polish the "Buy in China" brand.

Specifically, in terms of policy support, we will launch the 2.0 version of measures to optimize the departure tax rebate, making shopping more convenient and affordable for overseas tourists. We will also introduce measures to promote the expansion and upgrading of commodity consumption, expanding the consumption of domestic trendy products, international boutique products, fashionable famous products, foreign trade excellent products, and other products. In terms of event arrangements, more than 20 key events such as the International Consumption Season and the Boutique Consumption Month will be held, and "Buy in China" city specific and local station activities will be organized to guide various regions in coordinating business, travel, culture, sports, and health resources to meet diversified consumption needs. In terms of scene creation and policy integration, we will deepen the cultivation and construction of international consumption center cities, actively promote the pilot construction of international consumption environment, create a number of international consumption agglomeration areas, and accelerate the construction of globally attractive consumption destinations. Launch pilot projects for new consumer formats, models, and scenarios. These consumption pilot projects are linked with the already introduced policies of trade in, prize invoices, and tax-free consumption. Hainan is the region with the highest concentration of tax-free shopping in the country. Through the integration of these policies and scene innovation, a group of new consumption scenes with strong experience, wide driving range, and high display are created.

Sheng Qiuping introduced, "At this year's Consumer Expo, we will launch the 2026 'Buy in China' international consumption season to assist consumers in purchasing global boutique products. We will also simultaneously launch activities such as the 8th National Dual Product Online Shopping Festival

Yang Mu, Director of the Consumer Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that 2026 is the starting year of the 15th Five Year Plan. The Ministry of Commerce will implement a special action to boost consumption and take multiple measures to promote sustained growth in consumption. The focus will be on carrying out the following tasks:

One is to promote the expansion and upgrading of commodity consumption. Optimize the implementation of the policy of exchanging old for new consumer goods, highlight green intelligence, and provide a market for new industries and new quality productivity. Promote the reform of automobile circulation and consumption, facilitate the efficient circulation of second-hand cars, advance the development of the automobile aftermarket, and expand automobile consumption throughout the entire chain.

The second is to unleash the potential of service consumption. Implement the action of improving service consumption quality and benefiting the people, and enhance the quality of service supply. Support the development of leisure consumption such as cruise ships, yachts, RV camping in areas with conditions, and actively expand low altitude consumption.

Thirdly, active offline consumption. This Spring Festival, driven by the "TESCO Group Spring Festival" activity, the growth rate of offline physical retail exceeded that of online retail by 3.9%, indicating that offline consumption potential is still great. The Ministry of Commerce will organize a variety of consumer promotion activities to create diverse and integrated consumption scenarios, further activating offline consumption.

The fourth is to stimulate the vitality of the sinking market. The sinking market has become an important driving force for consumption growth, and the growth rate of rural consumer goods retail sales has been faster than that of urban areas for eight consecutive months. The Ministry of Commerce will implement tailored and classified policies based on the situation in different regions to accelerate the release of consumer potential in the sinking market.