China's pet consumption market has shown great vitality in recent years with new consumption scenarios continuing to spring up.
With an increasing number of pet lovers who are not unable to keep pets themselves due to various reasons, pet cafes are becoming especially popular in urban areas, as a way for them to compensate for the lack of furry companionship.
In Shanghai, a pet cafe in a shopping mall is always flocked with young individuals who expect to relieve the pressure from petting these adorable and docile animals.
"Dogs are just so cute. After petting them, you will feel that you are free from worries and you will feel very happy," said Wang Chenyu, a pet lover.
"When I feel stressed, I will come here, leaving my mobile phone aside and sitting here for an hour or two, I will then feel very relaxed," said Xu Jingcheng, another pet lover.
To those who are struggling in the issue whether to join the pet-keeping population or not, the pet cafe can also give an answer.
"After visiting our store, there will be more and more customers learning that what kind of dog is suitable for them. They will more rationally know whether they are ready to keep a pet," said Liu Mingjun, person in charge of a petting dog store.
The pet cafes also sell pet peripheral products, offering consumers a chance to own DIY keychains and canvas bags printed with their favorite animals.
Besides, the number of pet supply stores, pet-themed amusement parks, and pet-related workshops have also gradually increased, gaining the favor of many pet lovers.
China's booming pet economy propels new consumption scenarios
China is the "best possible partner" for Serbia to achieve its national goals, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview prior to Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to the country.
In the exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Belgrade on Tuesday, Vucic praised Xi as a humble man who keeps his word.
"We are doing a lot of preparations. We have many dreams. When you run the country you have big aims, high dreams. You need to put your new targets always. And if we can reach these new aims, new targets, new goals, the best possible partner for that has always been, and it will always be, People's Republic of China. And it's President Xi, because President Xi, he keeps his words. I see him as just a regular, humble, modest man, but which is not promising a lot, but when he promises something, then he fulfills that. I cannot tell you whether we had bigger preparations in our railroad sector or overall infrastructural sector or industrial sector, economy sector or tourism sector, whichever sector, or cultural sector, because there are thousands of things that we can and we should learn from our Chinese friends," he said.
Vucic said Serbia's preparations for Xi's visit would help ensure its success and deliver benefits to both nations.
"Let me say it's a big visit and now we are going to be, after today, we are going to be fully devoted to that visit, and I believe that we'll be able to deliver the very best results for the benefit and for the sake of Chinese people and Serbian people as well," he said.
The president also hailed the positive effects on bilateral trade between the two countries since a free trade agreement was signed in Oct 2023, making Serbia China's 29th global free trade partner.
"And there is one very important thing. The free trade agreement that we signed in Beijing. That's a big deal for us, because now we have reached 6.1 billion (U.S. dollars of) overall trade exchange between our two countries. And I believe that we're going to double or triple within 10 years, or even more than that, with this free trade agreement, this is very possible and I believe this will open new doors, new gates for better cooperation even in the future," he said.
Bilateral trade between China and Serbia soared from 596 million U.S. dollars in 2016 to 4.35 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. In 2022, China became the largest source of direct investment for Serbia.
China best partner for Serbia to achieve national goals: Serbian president
