6th China International Consumer Expo to Kick Off in Hainan

BEIJING, March 31 (Reporter) — The State Council Information Office held a press conference on March 30 to brief the public on the 6th China International Consumer Expo (CICEX), according to Xinhua News Agency. Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, announced that the expo will be held in Hainan Province from April 13 to 18 this year, marking both the first major exhibition in China in the opening year of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the first major event after Hainan Free Trade Port (HFTP) fully implemented customs closure operations. 

Sheng highlighted three key features of this year’s expo compared with previous editions: focusing on "internationalization" to gather global consumer brands, concentrating on "high-quality products" to enrich premium consumption supply, and emphasizing "first launches" to lead consumption trends. Data shows the expo will attract over 3,400 brands from more than 60 countries and regions, with international exhibits accounting for 65%, a 20-percentage-point increase from last year. 

This year’s Government Work Report proposed optimizing the inbound consumption environment and building the "Shop in China" brand. In response, Sheng stated that the Ministry of Commerce will thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to further enhance the influence of the "Shop in China" brand. 

Specifically, in terms of policy support, the ministry will launch the optimized Version 2.0 of the tax refund policy for overseas tourists to make shopping more convenient and cost-effective, and introduce measures to expand and upgrade commodity consumption, boosting the consumption of domestic trendy products, international boutiques, fashion brands and high-quality foreign trade products. In terms of activities, it will organize more than 20 key events including the International Consumption Season and Premium Consumption Month, as well as special "Shop in China" city events. 

"We will launch the 2026 ‘Shop in China’ International Consumption Season during the expo to help consumers purchase global premium products, and simultaneously kick off the 8th National Double Quality Online Shopping Festival," Sheng added. The Double Quality Online Shopping Festival, focusing on brand and quality, is one of the key promotional activities under the Ministry of Commerce’s consumption promotion initiatives. 

Yang Mu, Director of the Department of Consumption Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce, noted that 2026, the opening year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, will see the ministry implement a special campaign to boost consumption and take multiple measures to promote sustained consumption growth. 

Key efforts will include expanding and upgrading commodity consumption by optimizing the trade-in policy for consumer goods, focusing on green and intelligent products to support new industries and new quality productive forces. It will also promote the reform of automobile circulation, facilitate the efficient flow of used cars, advance the development of the auto after-market, and expand automobile consumption across the entire chain. 

Additionally, the ministry will tap the potential of service consumption by improving service quality, support qualified regions in developing leisure consumption such as cruise ships, yachts and RV camping, and actively expand low-altitude consumption. It will also invigorate offline consumption — driven by the "Happy Shopping Spring Festival" activity, offline physical retail growth outpaced online retail by 3.9 percentage points during this year’s Spring Festival. Efforts will also be made to stimulate the vitality of the sinking market, where rural consumer goods retail sales have grown faster than urban areas for eight consecutive months. 

Hainan, as the most concentrated area for duty-free shopping in China, will leverage policy integration and scenario innovation to create new consumption scenarios with strong experience and wide influence, linking consumption pilots with existing policies such as trade-in, prize-winning invoices and duty-free consumption.