China Sets 2030 Retail Sales Target of 60 Trillion Yuan, Cultivating Trillion-Yuan Markets

The Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and four other departments, recently issued the Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Expansion and Upgrading of Commodity Consumption, which were made public on August 31. The plan sets a target for total retail sales of consumer goods to reach approximately 60 trillion yuan by 2030, and aims to cultivate ten-trillion-yuan markets in green consumption, smart consumption, and health consumption. Retail sales in trillion-yuan categories, including automobiles, home appliances, communication equipment, and textiles and apparel, are expected to continue growing, with the market maintaining a globally leading scale.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the scale of commodity consumption is expected to expand steadily, with structural optimization and upgrading, and the advantages of the super-large market continuing to emerge. The implementation plan outlines four key tasks: promoting consumption of large durable goods, steadily enhancing consumption of daily necessities, supporting consumption of specialty products, and fostering the growth of upgraded commodity consumption.

Regarding large durable goods, the plan calls for deepening pilot reforms in automobile circulation and consumption, expanding automobile consumption across the entire chain, and encouraging relevant regions to optimize purchase restrictions. It also aims to cultivate the aftermarket for automobiles, establish an information exchange system covering the full lifecycle of vehicles—including sales, registration, maintenance, insurance, and scrappage—improve the management system for used-car circulation, and advance the construction of charging and battery-swapping infrastructure for new energy vehicles. The plan also promotes the adoption of smart home applications, supports companies in setting up smart home experience centers, and encourages households to undertake whole-home smart renovations. Additionally, it encourages home appliance retailers to collaborate with manufacturers and recycling firms in promotional activities, and to bring appliance recycling services into streets, communities, and villages.

For daily necessities, the plan emphasizes strengthening the production and supply of green and high-quality agricultural products, developing rural e-commerce, and addressing shortcomings in cold-chain and express delivery logistics for agricultural products. It encourages companies to develop a diverse range of beverages and cultivate world-class tea beverage brands. The plan also promotes the integration of textile and apparel consumption with traditional Chinese culture, fostering designer brands and brands with ethnic characteristics. It supports consumption of high-quality cultural products featuring green, smart, and trendy domestic designs, expands consumption of 3D printing-related products, and strengthens intellectual property protection.

In supporting specialty product consumption, the plan focuses on the elderly and children. It aims to expand the application of technologies such as brain-computer interfaces and artificial intelligence in elderly-friendly products, and to promote the entry of exoskeleton robots, electric wheelchairs, and other products into the homes of elderly people. It encourages companies to research and develop green, smart, and safe infant and child products. The plan also deepens the demonstration and creation of time-honored Chinese brands, supports domestic trendy products entering duty-free shops, and facilitates the import of high-quality green, healthy, and smart consumer goods.

To cultivate upgraded commodity consumption, the plan promotes green and low-carbon products such as new energy vehicles, energy-saving home appliances, and green building materials, and improves incentive mechanisms for green consumption. It calls for building clusters and application experience centers for "artificial intelligence plus consumption," accelerating the promotion and application of AI-enabled smartphones and computers, smart wearable devices, and intelligent robots. The plan also supports dietary nutrition education, encourages research and innovation in health foods, and optimizes the approval procedures for foods for special medical purposes.