Tax data highlights strong consumption growth in 2025

China's consumer market maintained robust momentum in 2025 backed by a package of targeted policies, with strong demand across diverse sectors, according to tax data released by the State Taxation Administration.

Over the period, the number of overseas visitors claiming tax refunds surged by 305 percent year on year, accompanied by a 95.9 percent rise in tax-refund eligible sales and a 95.8 percent growth in total refund value.

Data showed that the number of tax refund application forms issued in 2025 increased by 3.6 times year on year in the Chinese capital of Beijing, with sales of tax refund goods up 66 percent year on year.

Shanghai saw the number of overseas travelers claiming tax refunds quadruple and the sales of relevant products grow by approximately 80 percent last year.

The southern city of Shenzhen added more than 1,000 new departure tax refund shops over the year, and processed 68,000 tax refund transactions in 2025, a 13-fold increase from the previous year.

In east China's Anhui Province, local border inspection authorities handled a total of 388,000 entry and exit trips in 2025, with the number of foreign nationals entering or leaving the province up 124 percent year on year.

Popular tourist destinations that attract large numbers of overseas visitors, such as Huangshan Mountain scenic spot and Chizhou City, have helped accelerated the expansion of stores with instant tax refund on purchases.

"In 2025, sales of tax-refunded goods in Anhui increased by 15.92 times year on year, and the number of overseas travelers benefiting from the departure tax refund policy grew by 5.56 times," said Zhang Fuwei, chief accountant with the Anhui provincial tax service of the State Taxation Administration.

Data also showed in 2025, seven new regions, namely Dalian City, Hubei, Jilin, Guizhou, Shanxi and Qinghai provinces, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, implemented the tax refund scheme for overseas visitors.

By the end of 2025, China had a total of 12,930 departure tax refund shops, of which more than 7,000 were able to provide instant tax refund services to allow foreign visitors to receive their refunds while shopping.

China's short track speed skating team, along with the snowboard big air and slopestyle team, arrived in Milan of Italy early Saturday morning, officially kicking off their Winter Olympics journey as the first batch of Team China athletes arriving.

The Chinese short track speed skating team is sending 10 athletes to this edition of the Winter Olympics. The team planned to hold its first on-ice training session later in the afternoon.

"I think the time difference is okay. I had some sleep aboard the plane and then arrived here," said team member Fan Kexin.

"I have been here before, but that was many years ago, four or five years ago. This is my second time. Every venue has its own style, and each course is different, so I am really looking forward to it," said Yang Wenlong, a member of the snowboard big air and slopestyle team.