Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, achieved fast growth in its business and trade sector in the first three months of the year. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, achieved fast growth in its business and trade sector in the first three months of the year, according to the city's statistics bureau.

The growth rate of its wholesale and retail sales and catering service sector was ranked first in the province. The growth rate of foreign investment was ranked second.

Statistics show that Xiamen's total retail sales of consumer goods expanded by 42.6 percent year-on-year to 75.31 billion yuan ($11.59 billion) in the first quarter of this year, while the catering businesses posted a sales volume of 6.26 billion yuan during the period, growing by 76.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

The sharp growth of the city's business and trade sector was due to the city's continuous efforts to boost consumption. Catering service providers, large business supermarkets, and branded convenience stores are encouraged to provide consumers with shopping coupons through online platforms like Alipay, WeChat Pay, and China UnionPay. The government has also promised to offer financial aid to those offering shopping coupons.

Efforts have also been made to accelerate the development of new forms and models of consumption such as night economy and e-commerce business to drive the growth of the city's consumption market.

Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, Xiamen's foreign trade has continued to recover. According to official data, the city's total foreign trade grew by 29 percent year-on-year to 185.39 billion yuan in the first three months of the year.

Its exports grew by 28.9 percent year-on-year to 91.09 billion yuan during the January to March period, while its imports rose to 94.3 billion yuan, growing by 29 percent from the same period last year. Trade with BRICS countries saw continuous growth on an annual basis, with the total volume between the two expanding by 10.3 percent year-on-year to 14.1 billion yuan.

Total retail sales of consumer goods in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, grew by 43.9 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year. [Photo/xmnn.cn] 

Efforts have also been made to accelerate the development of new forms and models of consumption such as night economy. [Photo/VCG]