Beijing's 52 business areas report 37% rise in retail sales

Beijing's efforts to enhance its role as an influential and competitive global consumption center have borne fruit, as the 52 major business areas in Beijing reported an overall revenue of CNY228 billion in the retail sector in the first 10 months, soaring 37% year-on-year, Yan Ligang, Director of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau said. “The development of the business areas is key for Beijing as a global consumption center. Since the launch in 2019 of a project to upgrade the 22 traditional business areas, including Wangfujing and Qianmen in downtown, the city has witnessed many successes, and brought about many changes welcomed by its citizens.” Yan said 18 out of the 22 have completed upgrading and the rest will be finished by the end of this year. In the Wangfujing business area, the street layout and environment were improved, with more newly-added cultural elements. The ‘old’ Wangfujing has gained a ‘new’ core, attracting young consumers. For Beijing’s central business district (CBD), where most foreign enterprises are located, the municipal government attracted more facilities, such as convenience stores, cafes and bookstores.

In the Huilongguan business area, farther from the downtown area, efforts were made to add more parking lots, public restrooms and improve power distribution. In recent years, some 30 new modern business districts attracted more consumers. E-commerce is also becoming a fast growing part of Beijing’s retail sector, which helps the city on its way to become a global consumption center. For the first 10 months, the total online retail revenue reached CNY412.8 billion, a 22.8% increase year-on-year, the Bureau said. To facilitate China's opening-up, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Guangzhou have been assigned to develop into international consumption center cities, the Ministry of Commerce said in July, the China Daily reports.