Walking through the antique shops on Guanqian Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu, French tourist Dean's suitcase is stuffed with Hanfu, embroidered scarves, handmade tea sets, and new smartphones. "This is my second time in China to 'shop the goods', and I feel like I can't buy enough every time."

  As the "China Travel" continues to heat up, from Beijing Xiushui Street to Yiwu International Trade City, from Hainan duty-free shops to Shenzhen Huaqiangbei, more and more foreign tourists make special trips to China to buy.

  What kind of attraction does "China Shopping" hide?

  On May 2, customers were shopping in the Qianye Glasses flagship store located in Jiefangbei Business District, Yuzhong District, Chongqing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Wei

  Empty box comes full load

  "Be sure to bring empty boxes to China!" This practical tip has caused heated discussions on overseas social platforms recently. From "China Travel" to "China Shopping", foreigners come to China to buy and buy are becoming a new trend in cross-border tourism.

  Data from the State Immigration Administration shows that during this year's May Day holiday, there were 1.115 million foreigners entering and leaving the country, an increase of 43.1% year-on-year. Many taxi drivers in Shanghai have noticed that while there are more and more foreign tourists, their suitcases are getting bigger and bigger. Data shows that from April 30 to May 4, overseas consumption in Shanghai was 455 million yuan, an increase of 211.6% year-on-year.

  "Looking at this wallet, every pattern is hand-embroidered." On the overseas video platform, blogger Sara from South Africa shared the gains of the recent trip to China with netizens. "And this thermos cup that can make tea automatically, the design is great!"

  Some overseas consumers even form "purchase groups" to fly to China to purchase popular products. On social media, a blogger initiated a "mutual assistance purchasing agent" invitation: "If you go to China this week, help me buy something. I'll help you bring it to you next time."

  According to statistics, the scale of "buy and refund" tax refunds in 10 pilot areas last year increased by 22 times year-on-year, which is 18 times the year-on-year growth rate of national departure tax refunds.

  From manufacturing in China to "intelligent manufacturing" in China, the shopping preferences of foreign tourists are also quietly changing.

  "In the past, I would buy small dolls and cheap souvenir shirts, but now I want to bring back something unique." Dean said that on his shopping list, silk products, ceramics, and Hanfu occupy an important position, and smart products are a must-buy option. “The quality, design and iteration speed of Chinese products are amazing.”

  Data from the payment platform shows that the proportion of local supermarkets, trendy cultural and creative products, specialty foods, etc. in foreign tourists' consumption in China has increased significantly.

  Tourism "traffic" turns into consumption "retention"

  Why did "China Shopping" become popular?

  Affordable + convenience are important factors that attract foreign tourists to shop in China. How much money can you save when shopping in China?

  In Deji Square, Italian tourist Marino received nearly 1,000 yuan in tax refunds through the "buy-and-refund" service and "not leaving the store" and turned around and bought another set of pajamas. "It can be reached in just a few steps on your phone, which is super convenient, which makes me want to buy more special products."

  Chen Youping, financial director of a shopping mall in Wuxi, said that if the tax refund rate is calculated at 11%, and the 2% handling fee is deducted, foreign tourists can save 900 yuan in consumption of 10,000 yuan. "This is particularly attractive to consumers who buy luxury goods, high-end electronic products and other products, and is also conducive to stimulating re-consumption."

  The continued relaxation of visa-free policies makes it easier for "Chinese travel" to be transformed into "Chinese shopping". Data released by the State Immigration Administration on April 15 showed that since the implementation of the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, the number of incoming foreigners nationwide has increased by 40.2% year-on-year, of which 71.3% of the incoming tourists have accounted for.

  "If you can stay longer, you can go to more nearby cities, and of course you have to buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, said Marino. Many tourists from neighboring countries are enthusiastic about shopping in China. In South Korea, some young consumers have even set off a short-distance shopping wave of "flying to China after get off work on Friday".

  On April 29, an inbound tourist received a tax refund at the centralized tax refund service point in Zhangyuan, Shanghai. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

  The Ministry of Commerce and other departments have also recently launched a series of facilitation measures, such as reducing the starting point of departure tax refund from 500 yuan to 200 yuan, increasing the cash tax refund limit to 20,000 yuan, adding tax refund stores in places where overseas tourists gather, and promoting the "buy now and refund" service measures across the country.

  Song Xiangqing, vice president of the Chinese Society of Business Economics, believes that a series of optimization policies have enriched consumption scenarios and alleviated the problems of fewer tax refund stores and uneven distribution. At the same time, the shopping threshold has been further lowered and foreign tourists have stimulated more consumption behaviors of "buying casually" and "buying multiple times".

  The coverage rate of wild card POS machines has increased, and the "wild card binding" and "outsourcing and use" capabilities of mobile payments such as Alipay and WeChat have been continuously iterated, allowing many regions to "touch" to pay. Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places have also launched multilingual tax refund guidelines and electronic maps to allow foreign tourists to "buy with confidence and return with worry."

  The "shopping cart" of foreign tourists also reflects the global competitiveness of "Made in China". Zhang Chunlong, director of the Institute of Social Policy, Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences, said that the rising high-tech content of Chinese products and the continuous improvement of the manufacturing supply chain have made many domestic brands more attractive in the global market. "High quality and cost-effectiveness have enabled foreign tourists to continue to visit China to "shop for good things."

  Optimize the consumption environment so that tourists around the world can "come and buy often"

  The "China Shopping" boom reflects the strong resilience and development potential of my country's economy. Song Xiangqing pointed out that in 2024, my country's inbound consumption accounted for about 0.5% of GDP, which is still a gap from the level of 1% to 3% of major countries in the world; if it increases to 1% of GDP, it can drive new consumption scale of more than one trillion yuan.

  The interviewees suggested that we must seize the inbound consumption boom and take the initiative to take advantage of the situation, and actively create a consumer gravitational field where global tourists "don't want to leave when they come, and still want to come after they leave."

  A shopping mall manager proposed that the tax refund mark is the "certification" of international consumption, and more tax credit companies of different levels should be encouraged to apply for departure tax refunds and "buy and refund" stores. At present, many duty-free shops still mainly sell imported goods, which can encourage more domestic high-quality goods to enter the store, giving overseas tourists more consumption options.

  Zhang Chunlong said that various places can use visa-free policies to integrate fragmented inbound tourism scenarios, such as "traveling on the high-speed rail", and coordinate resources between cities to launch a "one journey, multiple stations" boutique route. At the same time, we will create a comprehensive consumption scenario integrating tourism, shopping, culture, sports and health, and encourage tourists to experience the local lifestyle in depth.

  Zhou Zhanfeng, director of the European Marketing Office of the Entry Department of China International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., believes that the "street stall economy" that inbound tourists are generally loved by them cannot be ignored. The commercial atmosphere of night markets, markets, clothing stalls, farmers' markets, etc. can make more overseas tourists willing to stay or even nostalgic.

  Supporting services also need to be further refined. Zhou Zhanfeng suggested that on the one hand, it can improve the capabilities of multilingual services, digital guides, etc., and on the other hand, it can build a service consumption Internet platform, linking service ports such as travel, takeout, and movie viewing with one-click to meet the consumption experience. At the same time, we must seriously investigate and punish acts such as price gouging, operating without a license, making and selling counterfeit goods.

  Wang Xu, a senior researcher at Hualuo Think Tank, believes that the current communication methods such as internet celebrity bloggers and international tourists have led to the gradual convergence of many tourists' destinations and consumption preferences. Domestic brands should be encouraged to open "first overseas stores", and all parties should make full use of the "catalyst" effect, accurately formulate marketing strategies, and attract more foreign tourists to "come and buy often." (Reporter He Leijing)

[Editor in charge: Qiu Lifang]