City to repeat shopping festival success

Shanghai announced the implementation of a consumption upgrade action plan, with the second Double Five Shopping Festival to be launched this year as a driver.

The city government clarified the major tasks for commercial development in 2021 at a work conference on Friday.

After the success of last year’s Double Five Shopping Festival, the city will work on holding a second one, cultivate and promote high-end consumption, and push forward digital transformation of commerce.

It also plans to carry out an action plan on foreign trade transformation, promoting innovation in trade in services and enhancing the capacity of new types of trade.

Meanwhile, greater efforts will be taken to attract foreign investment in Shanghai, attracting foreign enterprises to the city with comprehensive services and more supporting policies, and at the same time to encourage local companies to go abroad and expand overseas business.

In 2020, the city’s consumer market picked up steadily despite the shock of COVID-19, with retail sales of consumer goods totaling 1.59 trillion yuan (US$246.4 billion), up 0.5 percent year on year which was 4.4 percentage points faster than the whole country. 

Imports and exports increased by 2.3 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than the national pace, of which imports rose by 3.8 percent and exports remained flat, taking up a larger part in both national and global markets.

Steady progress was seen in utilizing foreign capital as well, with paid-in value of foreign investment extending the rise by 6.2 percent from last year’s high base to reach US$20.23 billion, a record. 

Outbound direct investment topped US$13.5 billion, up 49 percent, ranking second in the country.