China's consumer market showed steady growth in the first two months this year, driven by policies such as the expanded trade-in program, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Data showed that total retail sales of consumer goods reached over 8.37 trillion yuan (about 1.17 trillion U.S. dollars) from January to February, climbing 4 percent year on year.
With the implementation of the expanded consumer goods trade-in program, the retail sales of communication equipment and cultural and office supplies by enterprises above the designated size jumped by 26.2 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively, over the same period of last year. Sales of furniture and household appliances increased by 11.7 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.
China's service consumption also continued to expand in the first two months. The retail sales of services in the period showed a 4.9 percent year-on-year growth. Specifically, catering revenue grew by 4.3 percent from a year earlier. Notably, the retail sales of tourism consultation and leasing services as well as transportation and travel services all achieved double-digit growth rates year on year.
In addition, the growth rate of rural consumption outpaced that of urban consumption during the January-February period. The retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas increased by 4.6 percent year on year, with growth rate being 0.8 percentage points higher than that recorded in urban areas.
China's consumer market maintains steady growth at start of 2025: data
China's consumer market maintains steady growth at start of 2025: data
China Meteorological Administration (CMA) held a series of science popularization activities in Beijing on Sunday to mark the World Meteorological Day, which fell on March 23 this year.
The CMA campus opened its doors to the public, showcasing cutting-edge scientific and technological equipment and interactive projects to disseminate meteorological science knowledge.
"The CMA campus along with some meteorological observatories and science popularization venues in Beijing are open to the public. Specifically, the CMA campus opened indoor exhibition areas, including the China Meteorological Science and Technology Exhibition Hall, the science popularization exhibition area of the National Satellite Meteorological Center, the science popularization exhibition hall of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, as well as outdoor exhibition areas like the meteorological observation field, the meteorological science popularization area, and the meteorological equipment exhibition. Visitors had the opportunity to gain an insight into the latest advancements in 'meteorology +' technologies applied in fields such as aviation, navigation, and finance, while learning about the latest development process of meteorological satellites, intelligent meteorological observation equipment, and artificial weather modification operation systems," said Zhang Jie, deputy director of the CMA office.
At the event, many visitors had conversations with a smart weather prediction robot, called "Fenghe".
The large-scale meteorological service language model of "Fenghe", featuring 230 billion parameters, was collaboratively developed by the CMA Public Meteorological Service Center and Tsinghua University.
By incorporating professional and authoritative meteorological data, this system can engage with users through a conversational dialogue interface to address inquiries related to meteorological science education, weather forecast, travel planning, and early warning information.
"The 'Fenghe' model possesses five capabilities of providing meteorological knowledge, recognizing user intentions, interpreting and analyzing data, making decisions and inferences, and delivering meteorological service tools," explained Zhu Xiaoxiang, director of the CMA Public Meteorological Service Center.
China Meteorological Administration hold activities to mark World Meteorological Day
