A variety of promotional activities aimed to stimulate the vitality and unleash new potential of consumption highlight the first China International Premium Consumption Month, which opened on Sunday in the mega city of Shanghai.
Activities including boutique shopping, exquisite cuisines, classic travel routes, and cultural demonstrations and performances are set to stage at five international consumption centers, namely Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing.
"We've planned to put up 1,000 consumption promotion activities and organized 100 shopping malls and more than 50 time-honored brands across the city to jointly offer various discounts. We have also mobilized 1,000 dining brands throughout the city to present some activities to experience gourmet and premium meal packages to consumers," said Zhang Jingtian, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau.
Chongqing in southwest China is about to issue nearly 500 million yuan (around 69.8 million U.S. dollars) worth of consumption coupons in various forms, with a series of preferential promotion measures launched to further benefit the local people.
Tianjin in north China is set to turn out more than 50 high-quality dining events and host over 200 distinctive cultural tourism activities.
"We will turn out 28 routes for City Walk explorations in combination with the seasonal features of autumn and winter in Tianjin and the city's unique architectures to satisfy visitors' demand for sightseeing and consumption," said He Xiaoyang, an official with the Tianjin Commerce Bureau.
Various activities highlight premium consumption month
To meet the timeline of starting independent customs operations by the end of 2025, the government of south China's Hainan province issued a series of regulations to stipulate import and export management of Free Trade Port (FTP), with two major documents on environmental safety and medicine import put into effect recently.
To further explain the effects and scope of the two documents, the local government held press conferences on Monday and Tuesday.
The "Several Provisions on the Management of Entry Environmental Safety Access in the Hainan Free Trade Port" took effect on Wednesday, which clarified the scopes and responsibilities regarding potential environmental issues of vessels and import products.
"The document regulates the access management of special items such as hazardous waste, remanufactured products, carry-on items of entry personnel, and radioactive materials. Meanwhile, it clarifies that the storage sites for transit goods should meet environmental safety management requirements, to avoid environmental pollution," said Di Weijie, deputy director of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province.
In addition, the administrative rule on zero-tariff import of medicines and medical devices in Hainan Free Trade Port was put into effect on Tuesday, stipulating that before Hainan FTP starts independent customs operations, medical institutions, higher medical education institutions, and pharmaceutical research institutes registered in the Hainan's Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone with independent legal status and approved eligibility can import designated pharmaceuticals and medical devices under the zero-tariff policy.
"The scope [of medicines and medical devices imported under 'zero-tariff' policy] consists of two categories: imported pharmaceuticals and medical devices already approved for registration in China, and specially licensed pharmaceuticals and medical devices for the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone," said Jia Ning, director of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration, during the press conference.
With policy supports and related efforts like the Ever Lasting International Innovation Medicine Exhibition held in the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone, medicine and health care is expected to be a new pillar industry for Hainan.
New regulations clarify environment, medicine import issues in Hainan Free Trade Port
