China's Economic Activity Begins 2025 with Robust Consumer Spending
As the 9th Asian Winter Games kick off, Harbin City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has emerged as a center of attention, leading to an increase in tourism and business endeavors.
TroibNews 
With the inauguration of the 9th Asian Winter Games, Harbin City, located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has emerged as a prime destination, generating a notable rise in tourism and business activities.
Gao Fei, head of a prominent merchandise store at the Asian Winter Games, shared with CMG that there are more than 1,700 products available for purchase. He noted that sales for several items have soared five to six times compared to earlier figures, with many popular products quickly selling out.
Data from Ctrip, a major Chinese online travel agency, indicated a staggering 388 percent increase in tourism packages related to Harbin during the Games. Additionally, inbound travel orders to the city surged by 157 percent, with notable growth in visitors from Russia, the U.S., Hungary, South Korea, and Thailand.
The surge in consumption and travel has been apparent since the year's beginning. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's Consumer Price Index experienced a 0.5 percent year-on-year increase in January. The same data revealed that the national Producer Price Index fell by 0.2 percent compared to the previous month.
NBS chief statistician Dong Lijuan addressed the decrease in PPI, suggesting various factors played a role, including the Spring Festival holiday, during which industrial production reached a seasonal low. She credited the CPI growth to the holiday as well.
"The year-on-year increase in CPI was mainly driven by higher prices in services and food due to the Spring Festival, along with a rebound in gasoline prices," Dong stated.
During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, which spanned from January 28 to February 4, the country experienced a surge in both tourism and consumption.
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 501 million domestic trips were taken during the eight-day holiday, reflecting a 5.9 percent increase year on year. Total domestic expenditure reached 677 billion yuan, a 7 percent rise compared to last year.
China's box office revenue for the 2025 Spring Festival holiday hit 8.02 billion yuan by February 3, surpassing 10 billion when including real-time presales—marking a record for the same period in the country's cinematic history, as reported by the China Film Administration.
China's foreign trade also began the year positively. More than 30 textile companies from east China's Zhejiang Province participated in Heimtextil 2025, an international venue for home and contract textiles, with the number of Chinese exhibitors increasing by 15 percent to 1,040. Many companies, such as exhibitor Jin Fei, showcased samples to enhance their international presence.
Cross-border e-commerce has also seen significant growth. The Yiwu International Trade City, located at the Horgos International Border Cooperation Center on the China-Kazakhstan border, recorded over 5 million international livestreaming followers at the start of this year.
This Spring Festival marked the 11th "nonstop Spring Festival" for China-Europe freight trains departing from east China's Zhejiang Province. In January 2025, these trains made 306 trips, transporting 25,536 twenty-foot equivalent units, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent, according to Chen Songdi, marketing manager at the Hangzhou Railway Logistics Center under China Railway Shanghai Group.
The flourishing New Year economy highlights China's market potential and bolsters confidence. With supportive policies and market dynamics in play, economic growth is anticipated to continue through 2025.
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
Gao Fei, head of a prominent merchandise store at the Asian Winter Games, shared with CMG that there are more than 1,700 products available for purchase. He noted that sales for several items have soared five to six times compared to earlier figures, with many popular products quickly selling out.
Data from Ctrip, a major Chinese online travel agency, indicated a staggering 388 percent increase in tourism packages related to Harbin during the Games. Additionally, inbound travel orders to the city surged by 157 percent, with notable growth in visitors from Russia, the U.S., Hungary, South Korea, and Thailand.
The surge in consumption and travel has been apparent since the year's beginning. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's Consumer Price Index experienced a 0.5 percent year-on-year increase in January. The same data revealed that the national Producer Price Index fell by 0.2 percent compared to the previous month.
NBS chief statistician Dong Lijuan addressed the decrease in PPI, suggesting various factors played a role, including the Spring Festival holiday, during which industrial production reached a seasonal low. She credited the CPI growth to the holiday as well.
"The year-on-year increase in CPI was mainly driven by higher prices in services and food due to the Spring Festival, along with a rebound in gasoline prices," Dong stated.
During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, which spanned from January 28 to February 4, the country experienced a surge in both tourism and consumption.
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 501 million domestic trips were taken during the eight-day holiday, reflecting a 5.9 percent increase year on year. Total domestic expenditure reached 677 billion yuan, a 7 percent rise compared to last year.
China's box office revenue for the 2025 Spring Festival holiday hit 8.02 billion yuan by February 3, surpassing 10 billion when including real-time presales—marking a record for the same period in the country's cinematic history, as reported by the China Film Administration.
China's foreign trade also began the year positively. More than 30 textile companies from east China's Zhejiang Province participated in Heimtextil 2025, an international venue for home and contract textiles, with the number of Chinese exhibitors increasing by 15 percent to 1,040. Many companies, such as exhibitor Jin Fei, showcased samples to enhance their international presence.
Cross-border e-commerce has also seen significant growth. The Yiwu International Trade City, located at the Horgos International Border Cooperation Center on the China-Kazakhstan border, recorded over 5 million international livestreaming followers at the start of this year.
This Spring Festival marked the 11th "nonstop Spring Festival" for China-Europe freight trains departing from east China's Zhejiang Province. In January 2025, these trains made 306 trips, transporting 25,536 twenty-foot equivalent units, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent, according to Chen Songdi, marketing manager at the Hangzhou Railway Logistics Center under China Railway Shanghai Group.
The flourishing New Year economy highlights China's market potential and bolsters confidence. With supportive policies and market dynamics in play, economic growth is anticipated to continue through 2025.
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
