China's consumer market has shown steady growth this year, with traditional consumption expanding steadily, new consumption developing rapidly, and service consumption expanding and improving in quality, providing strong support for the country's economic recovery, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
Consumption in the digital, green, and health sectors have seen robust development, while sales of new energy vehicles, smart home appliances, and domestic products and 'China-chic' goods have also seen rapid growth, according to ministry spokesman He Yadong.
"From January to July, the online retail sales of physical goods grew 8.7 percent year on year, accounting for 25.6 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. In July, the retail sales of new energy vehicles surged 36.9 percent year on year, with a penetration rate reaching 51.1 percent. The retail sales of sporting and entertainment goods, as well as communications equipment of enterprises above the designated size grew 10.7 percent and 12.7 percent year on year respectively," said He.
He also noted that the summer vacation across China has seen vibrant consumption in the tourism and entertainment industries, while retail sales have also shown positive growth so far in 2024.
"The first seven months of this year saw service retail sales grow 7.2 percent year on year, 4.1 percentage points faster than the growth of retail sales of goods, catering revenue increase by 7.1 percent, and the retail sales of transportation and communication service categories maintain double-digit growth," said the spokesman.
The consumer market is expected to continue its upward trend, driven by favorable policies and ongoing pro-consumption activities, according to He.
"Overall, with the accelerated implementation of policies supporting the replacement of old products with new ones and promoting high-quality development of service consumption,and the continuous deepening of various pro-consumption activities, the consumer market is expected to maintain its overall upward trend," said He.
China's consumer market sees growth as domestic sales show upward trend
China's scientific expedition team on Thursday obtained critical ice cores during their investigation of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, which is known as Asia's "water tower".
The region encompasses "one glacier, two lakes and three rivers". It is home to Purog Kangri Glacier, the world's largest glacier in the mid to low-latitude regions, as well as Siling Lake and Namtso Lake, the largest and second-largest lakes in Xizang, respectively. It is also the birthplace of the Yangtze River, Nujiang River and Yarlung Zangbo River.
The climate in the region is complex and changeable, and its ecosystem is very fragile, and meanwhile it is a pivotal area for Xizang's economic and social development.
During their expedition, the team drilled for ice cores at different depths overnight on Thursday, aiming to capture climate records from different time scales.
Ice core drilling is typically conducted during the night and early morning when the ice temperature is sufficiently low.
Ice cores serve as vital records of global climate and environmental changes. The sediments and bubbles within these cores are clues to understanding the history of Earth's climate. By studying the bubbles captured in ice cores, scientists can analyze atmospheric composition, including carbon dioxide levels, over hundreds of thousands of years.
Yao Tandong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and leader of the expedition, and Lonnie Thompson, a renowned American glacier expert and foreign academician at CAS, conducted their scientific expedition on the glacier Thursday morning.
Through helicopter observations, thickness-measuring radar, satellite image comparison and other methods, the scientific expedition team has found that the surface area of the Purog Kangri Glacier has shrunk by 10 percent over the past 50 years.
The average altitude of Purog Kangri Glacier is 5,748 meters, with the highest point reaching 6,370 meters. Due to global warming, the glacier is melting rapidly.
"So does the melting of glacier surface -- the higher the altitudes, the less the ablation volume, while at lower altitudes, it accumulates and forms branch-like rivers on the ice surface. Currently, these branches extend up to altitudes of 6,000 meters," said Xu Baiqing, a research fellow of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under the CAS.
Research indicates that the accelerated retreat of glaciers on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau over the past 40 years reflects a broader trend, and the melting rate of the Purog Kangri Glacier is relatively slow compared to the overall situation of the plateau.
The temperature changes within the glacier also attributed to the great difficulty of drilling, said Xu.
"Due to climate warming, the temperature within the glacier has risen, which suggests that under the same backdrop of temperature variations, the ablation may show abrupt shift with accelerating growth," said Xu.
The expedition was launched on Aug 18, 2024 and is scheduled to continue until October.
Scientists obtain critical ice cores during expedition in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau
