Ministry of Commerce: Online Retail Sales Increased by 8.5% from January to May

From January to May, China’s e-commerce sector continued to demonstrate its advantages in innovation, new business models, market scale, and international cooperation. The industry played a key role in stimulating domestic demand, advancing the integration of domestic and foreign trade, and supporting the development of an inclusive global economy.

Efforts such as promoting high-quality e-commerce and supporting the domestic sales of foreign trade enterprises were steadily advanced. The combination of policy support, holiday incentives, and promotional events contributed to unleashing consumer potential. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, online retail sales rose by 8.5% year-on-year from January to May. Key growth drivers included high-quality products, online service consumption, and emerging business models. Online and offline integration continued to deepen, with notable year-on-year growth in digital product sales (10.4%), trade-in sales for 15 categories of home appliances and digital goods (14%), online services (13.3%), and instant retail (12%). Since April, sales in foreign trade sections of major platforms exceeded 2 billion yuan.

The “E-commerce + Industrial Belt” initiative further promoted industrial transformation and practical enterprise support. More than 200 events were held across over 20 regions to help small and medium-sized enterprises enhance digital transformation and coordinate domestic and foreign trade. Regions such as Xinjiang, Chongqing, and Guangxi deepened platform cooperation with industrial belts, reaching nearly 50 cooperation intentions in areas like agricultural products and e-commerce logistics, with signed agreements exceeding 400 million yuan.

Major industrial e-commerce platforms expanded their application of AI from quality control and supply-demand matching to the entire business development process. These efforts led to a 40% reduction in research and development cycles and a 15% decrease in operational costs.

E-commerce cooperation under the Silk Road framework made further progress. Mechanisms were upgraded with Kazakhstan and newly established with Bangladesh, bringing the total number of partner countries to 35. Themed activities under “E-commerce Benefits the Globe” were executed efficiently and in a coordinated manner. A total of 40 key initiatives are planned for the year to provide targeted support. Twelve events—including the Silk Road E-commerce International Cooperation Matchmaking Conference, China-Central Asia Cooperation Roundtable, and the African Goods Online Shopping Season—were held in Henan, Shaanxi, and Hunan, with participation from governments, associations, and enterprises from 52 countries. These events produced over 100 cooperation agreements and contributed new momentum to bilateral and multilateral economic and trade collaboration.

Institutional opening of the Silk Road E-commerce pilot zones also progressed. A strategic cooperation agreement on cross-border data exchange infrastructure and regulatory frameworks was signed with Kazakhstan, creating new pathways for China’s data cooperation with neighboring countries.