China's online retail sales up in first three quarters

China's online retail sales reached over 8 trillion yuan (US$1.19 trillion) in the first three quarters, up 9.7 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Online retail has accelerated the digital transformation of market entities, boosted new business forms and models, and injected momentum into the digital economy, said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng.

New business models such as livestreaming e-commerce have combined entertainment with consumption and become popular among consumers, said Gao, adding that health consumption and green consumption are also new online trends.

Cross-border e-commerce and online service consumption both witnessed recoveries and have gained growth momentum.

China's rural areas also saw solid development of e-commerce, with their online retail sales totaling 1.2 trillion yuan during the same period, MOC data showed.