Seven Chinese ministries led by the Ministry of Commerce have jointly released a comprehensive implementation plan to expand and upgrade goods consumption, setting an ambitious target of lifting total retail sales of consumer goods to approximately 60 trillion yuan (about US$8.4 trillion) by 2030.
The Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Expansion and Upgrading of Goods Consumption, issued under document number Shangxiaofei Han [2026] No. 389, was jointly released by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Administration for Market Regulation. It lays out 20 specific measures organized around four priority areas.
A 60 Trillion Yuan Destination
The plan anchors itself to the “15th Five-Year Plan” period (2026–2030). Beyond the headline retail-sales target, it commits to nurturing green consumption, smart consumption and healthy consumption into separate ten-trillion-yuan markets, while sustaining the growth of trillion-yuan categories such as automobiles, home appliances, communications equipment and textiles and apparel, keeping China’s market scale at the global forefront.
Four Pillars of Action
First, big-ticket durable goods. The plan deepens pilot reforms in automobile circulation and consumption, accelerating the removal of unreasonable restrictive measures in auto circulation and usage, innovating vehicle-use management models, and optimizing license-plate quota restrictions in relevant regions to better satisfy residents’ demand for car purchases. It also promotes the application and popularization of smart-home technologies.
Second, daily necessities. The plan seeks to elevate the quality of food, beverages, textiles and apparel, and sports and entertainment products, while improving the coordination between agricultural production and sales.
Third, specialty goods. Targeting the “old and the young,” the plan supports consumption of silver-economy and infant-child products, promotes domestic “trending brands,” export-quality products and international premium goods.
Fourth, upgrade-oriented goods. Responding to evolving consumer demand, the plan fosters green, smart and healthy products, promotes new-energy vehicles and energy-efficient home appliances, creates artificial-intelligence consumption scenarios, and develops health-consumption products.
Support System
The plan further proposes five categories of supporting measures: improving urban and rural consumption carriers, refining the consumer-product standards system, strengthening consumption branding, intensifying fiscal and financial support, and regulating market order in goods consumption.
“Goods consumption plays a leading and supporting role in building a strong domestic market, developing new quality productive forces, and meeting people’s aspirations for a better life,” the Ministry of Commerce’s Consumer Promotion Department said in an official interpretation.
The plan arrives at a pivotal moment. China’s consumption recovery has been uneven, with households remaining cautious despite a raft of stimulus measures. By targeting structural bottlenecks — from auto purchase limits to fragmented recycling systems for home appliances — the government is betting that supply-side improvements can unlock latent demand.
For global brands, the implications are significant. The explicit commitment to promote international premium goods consumption, combined with the drive to remove distribution barriers, signals deeper market access. Meanwhile, the push for green and smart consumption aligns with the global sustainability agenda, creating openings for foreign companies specializing in energy-efficient technologies, AI-enabled devices and healthy-living products.
The 60-trillion-yuan target implies an average annual retail-growth rate in the mid-single digits through 2030. Achieving it will require not only the policy support outlined in the plan but also a sustained recovery in household income and confidence — a reminder that even the most comprehensive blueprint depends ultimately on the consumer.