Ministry of Commerce: Promote the retail industry to shift towards quality driven and service driven
Beijing, December 9 (Xinhua) -- Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping stated on the 9th that during the "15th Five Year Plan" period, the retail industry should be regarded as a key focus for cultivating a complete domestic demand system and strengthening the domestic circulation, promoting the industry to shift towards quality driven and service driven development, and achieving high-quality development.
The National Retail Industry Innovation and Development Conference will be held in Beijing from the 9th to the 10th. Sheng Qiuping stated at the meeting that the current retail industry still needs to further strengthen its network layout, supply-demand adaptation, online and offline balance, and other aspects. We must adhere to honest management, win the favor of consumers with high-quality products and services, promote the transformation of commercial facilities from space leasing to scene operation and ecological construction, and enhance the level of sustainable development. We need to learn and promote the good experiences and practices of enterprises such as Pangdonglai, and accelerate transformation and improvement. We should pay more attention to the sinking market, develop new formats, models, and scenarios, and stimulate consumer potential. We should guide both online and offline to learn from each other's strengths and beauty, promote mutual flow, complementary experiences, data exchange, and supply chain collaboration, and achieve deep integration, interdependence, and win-win coexistence. We should fully leverage the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, better utilize the role of the government, and create a fair competition environment in the market.
The reporter learned from the meeting that since the 14th Five Year Plan, the retail industry has made tremendous contributions to promoting consumption and investment. In 2024, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China increased by 3.5% year-on-year. In the first three quarters of 2025, the retail sales of convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores, and brand specialty stores in retail units above designated size increased by 6.4%, 4.4%, 0.9%, 4.8%, and 1.5% year-on-year, respectively.
Since last year, the Ministry of Commerce has promoted the innovation and upgrading project of the retail industry, and 38 pilot cities have actively promoted the "one store, one strategy" transformation of existing commercial facilities. The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance have successively identified 40 pilot projects for the construction of modern commercial and trade circulation systems, 50 pilot projects for new consumer formats, new models, and new scenarios, and 15 pilot projects for the construction of international consumer environments, supporting commercial and trade circulation projects including the retail industry and driving significant investment benefits.
About 100 officials from the commerce departments of 31 provinces (regions, municipalities) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as representatives from relevant industry associations, research institutions, financial institutions, and enterprises, attended the meeting. Attendees said that the conference has pointed out the direction for the transformation and innovative development of the retail industry, boosting confidence.