Inbound tourism and duty-free and tax-refund spending surged in China in 2025, driven by the country's favorable visa-free travel and tax-free shopping policies.
In November, 2025, five departments, including the Ministry of Finance, implemented new duty-free store policies, and six departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, lowered the tax-refund threshold for departing travelers to 200 yuan (about 28.8 U.S. dollars).
In the first week after the launch in December 2025 of special customs operations in south China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) that cover the entire southern island province, duty-free stores in Hainan's Sanya City recorded sales of 736 million yuan (nearly 106 million U.S. dollars), a 48.2-percent year-on-year surge, with foreign tourist spending rising by 18 percentage points.
The dual boost from policy dividends and consumer spending has established Hainan as the premier shopping destination for inbound tourists.
"[I come here with] our family, my daughter and my mom. We want to visit Hainan a lot of time. And now, we are here," said an inbound tourist.
In first-tier cities, departure tax refund sales soared - up about 80 percent year on year in Shanghai alone. South China's Guangzhou City recorded a single-day tax refund peak of 8.36 million yuan (more than 1.2 million U.S. dollars) during the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair.
Leveraging policies like passes for talents from Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, Guangzhou continues to attract substantial numbers of business travelers who take full advantage of duty-free and tax-refund policies in the city.
By the end of 2025, the number of duty-free shops nationwide reached 12,930, with over 7,000 offering instant tax refund services for departing visitors.
Duty-free sales boom in China in 2025
An official of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has condemned Israel for demolishing the buildings within the UN agency's East Jerusalem compound.
Israeli authorities stormed the Sheikh Jarrah compound of UNRWA last week. After a full day of demolition, all buildings inside the compound had been flattened or severely damaged. Israeli flags were seen raised at the site, while the United Nations (UN) flag had been taken down.
Olaf Becker, director of UNRWA affairs in Jordan, said the Israeli action gravely violates international law and poses challenges to the operations of UN agencies.
Expressing his deep concerns over Israel's unilateral action, Becker said UNRWA will continue its work in the region and make every effort to ensure that basic public services for Palestinian refugees are not interrupted.
"It's obviously in contravention to international law. It's in contravention to Israel's obligations under the UN Charter as well. While Sheikh Jarrah is highly symbolic, and of course it really impedes our ability for our leadership to operate and coordinate activities. We have offices around the West Bank as well, and we are still operational in those places," Becker said.
Following the demolition, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the compound "does not enjoy any immunity", and that the action complied with the law.
In response, Becker said Israel's denial of the privileges and immunity of UN agencies would directly undermine the legal foundation of the UN system, warning long-term impacts on UN agencies' ability to independently and effectively fulfill their duties within the framework of international law in the Middle East and globally, and worrying consequences for the UN and the multilateral system.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim not recognized internationally, while the UN regards East Jerusalem as occupied territory. Israeli officials have long accused UNRWA of employing Hamas members, which the agency denies.
In October 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning UNRWA, which provides desperately-needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and other areas, from operating in areas under Israeli jurisdiction, and prohibiting Israeli authorities from maintaining contact or cooperation with the agency, a move UNRWA and international bodies say violates international law. Israel then amended the law in December 2025 to ban electricity or water to UNRWA facilities.
Last month, Israeli authorities seized UNRWA's offices in East Jerusalem.
UNRWA official condemns Israeli demolition of agency’s buildings in East Jerusalem
