With more foreign travelers visiting China and reporting positive experiences, the country’s inbound consumption market continues to grow. Data from the State Taxation Administration (STA) on Tuesday showed that from April 27-May 26, the number of tax-refund-on-departure transactions surged by 116 percent year-on-year, while the sales revenue of tax refund stores jumped by 56 percent.
Over the past month, as China implemented optimized departure tax refund policies, both the number of departure tax refund stores and the value of refunds grew remarkably. These improvements have effectively attracted more overseas tourists to shop in China, thereby unlocking the potential of inbound tourism consumption, according to the official website of the STA.
Thanks to the optimized departure tax refund policies, , the number of transactions increased by 32 times and the sales revenue increased by 50 times year-on-year. In addition, the number of tax refund-eligible stores increased to 5,196, which is 1.4 times the number at the end of 2024, according to the STA.
The outcomes reflect China’s continuous efforts to streamline departure tax refund procedures and enhance the shopping experience. In a fresh move to boost inbound spending, China on April 27 unveiled new measures to further optimize the departure tax refund policy to improve the shopping experience of overseas travelers.
The measures, announced by the Ministry of Commerce and five other government departments, include lowering the minimum purchase threshold for refunds, raising the cash refund ceiling, expanding the network of participating stores, and widening the range of products available, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Since the new policies took effect, the STA has swiftly upgraded and refined its information systems. It has also directed tax authorities nationwide to engage deeply with commercial hubs and businesses to elucidate policy details. Furthermore, the STA has published tax refund guides and store directories in 14 languages, thereby continuously elevating the convenience of departure tax refund services for overseas visitors.
Multiple tax authorities in various Chinese cities have adopted measures to optimize the policy services for departure tax refunds.
For example, South China’s Shenzhen on April 27 launched a new pilot program featuring a "one order, one bag" model at three designated malls. Under this system, purchases and departure tax refund forms are packed together in sealed bags, enabling customs officials to quickly verify the packaging’s authenticity and cut inspection time by more than 50 percent.
The latest move to optimize the departure tax refund policy builds on a series of measures China has introduced to facilitate visas, payments and accommodation for overseas tourists, further demonstrating the country’s commitment to opening-up, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Providing overseas travelers with a greater variety of shopping options and more convenient tax refund services will help stimulate inbound consumption and support economic growth, Wang said, adding that against the backdrop of the intensified China-US trade conflict exacerbated by the US tariffs, China’s optimization of the tax refund policies is a vigorous response to the reckless US unilateralism and trade protectionism.
According to official data, sales of eligible goods rose 120 percent year on year, while the total amount of tax refunded increased by 130 percent in 2024. Inbound tourists spent a total of $94.2 billion last year, up 77.8 percent from a year earlier, per Xinhua.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0611/c90000-20325939.html