China's wholesale, retail sectors log strong momentum in Q1

Customers apply for subsidies under the trade-in program for consumer goods in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China's wholesale and retail sectors have logged strong momentum in the first three months of 2025, providing solid support for expanding domestic demand in the country, the commerce ministry said on Monday.

From January to March, the added value of China's wholesale and retail trade grew by 5.8 percent from a year earlier to reach 3.3 trillion yuan (about 457.98 billion U.S. dollars), or 10.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

During the period, the transaction volume of key commodity markets in the wholesale industry reached 1.3 trillion yuan, while the transaction volume of industrial consumer goods markets increased by 0.8 percent year on year, the ministry said.

For the retail industry, the retail sales of goods reached 11 trillion yuan in the first three months, increasing by 4.6 percent year on year.

China has seen about 100.35 million new home appliances sold under its consumer goods trade-in program, with over 40 million appliances sold in 2025, according to the ministry.