China launches service consumption festival to boost consumer spending

Beijing (ANTARA) - China has launched a service consumption festival, a market-based initiative led by the China International Electronic Commerce Centre to boost service consumption during the summer and autumn. Under the theme ‘Quality Service for a Better Life’, the festival primarily takes place during the summer months of July and August, continuing into the traditional peak shopping season in September and October. Several leading lifestyle service platforms are participating in the event, including JD.com, Meituan, Trip.com Group, Damai, WeChat, Alipay, and Douyin. These platforms will utilise digital and smart technologies to deliver various promotions benefiting consumers across key service sectors, including catering and accommodation, household services, transport, vehicle maintenance, cultural performances, tourism and leisure, healthcare, and inbound tourist consumption services. The festival aims to optimise resource allocation and match supply and demand more precisely, with particular attention to family travellers, the elderly and children, and foreign tourists. It will also strengthen the promotion of premium cultural and tourism resources to overseas markets, improve service guidance for inbound tourist consumption, and enhance the ease of payment systems for foreign visitors. The initiative also seeks to integrate online and offline consumption scenarios, encourage cross-sector integration across services, and improve service quality through the use of digital technology and the application of industry standards.