英语新闻｜ Holiday spurs consumption and recovery

China posted a robust growth in consumption during the five-day May Day holiday that ended Wednesday as many businesses across sectors made all-out efforts to tap pent-up demand, which experts said will further consolidate economic recovery and sustain sound development.

5月3日结束的为期五天的“五一”假期期间，中国消费强劲增长，各行业企业全力挖掘被压抑的需求，专家表示，这将进一步促进经济复苏并保持良好发展。

Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that consumer spending picked up rapidly during the holiday, especially on eating out, as evidenced by an almost 58 percent year-on-year increase in sales figures of key catering enterprises monitored by the ministry.

商务部数据显示，“五一”假期期间，消费支出快速回升，尤其是外出就餐支出，商务部监测的重点餐饮企业销售额同比增长近58%。

Consumer footfalls on national demonstration pedestrian streets surged by some 121 percent year-on-year, boosting business turnover by around 88 percent, the ministry said.

商务部数据显示，今年“五一”假期，全国示范步行街客流量同比增长约121%，营业额增长约88%。

Sales of gold, silver and jewelry rose nearly 23 percent year-on-year; consumer spending on clothing climbed 18-plus percent and cosmetics by 16.5 percent; tobacco and alcohol sales rose by over 15 percent year-on-year; and sales of home appliances expanded by nearly 14 percent, the ministry said.

商务部表示，金银珠宝销售额同比增长近23%；服装销售额增长超18%；化妆品销售额增长16.5%；烟酒销售额同比增长超15%；家电销售额增长近14%。

Reviving and expanding demand is key to a sustained recovery in the economy, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held on Friday.

4月28日，中共中央政治局召开会议，明确了恢复和扩大需求是当前经济持续回升向好的关键所在。

The consumption rebound illustrated people's strong willingness to spend during the holiday. The consumer flow in various regions recovered to 2019 levels, with some regions recording figures better than those of the pre-COVID levels, said Liu Tao, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council.

消费回暖，说明节假日消费意愿强烈。国务院发展研究中心研究员刘涛表示，多地的消费客流已恢复甚至超过2019年的同期水平。

Liu said businesses across the country lost no time in launching a flurry of promotional activities, and relevant government departments fully leveraged the holiday to shape new forms of consumption after China largely brought the pandemic under control. The combined efforts boosted the notable growth of consumer spending.

刘涛表示，在中国基本控制住疫情之后，全国各地的企业不失时机地推出多样化促销活动，政府相关部门因势利导，利用假期积极打造新的消费业态。这两者结合，刺激了消费的明显增长。

The consumption spree during the holiday revealed that China boasts huge potential and vitality in domestic demand and that the role of consumption as a major engine of economic growth has been further brought out, which will help cement the current momentum of economic recovery, he said.

刘涛说，“五一”假期消费热潮表明我国内需市场潜力巨大，消费活力进一步显现，消费拉动经济增长的主动力进一步发挥，有利于当前消费保持恢复性增长。

On top of the brick-and-mortar consumption boom, consumer spending via various online platforms gained steam as well during the May Day holiday.

除了实体消费热潮之外，“五一”假期期间，依托网络平台的消费也出现增长。

According to data from on-demand service platform Meituan, the average daily online spending on consumer services soared 133 percent over the same period in 2019, hitting a record high for the past five years. In particular, food and beverage consumption rose by 92 percent, and ticket bookings for tourist attractions doubled.

按需服务平台“美团”数据显示，全国生活服务业线上日均消费规模较2019年同期增长133%，其中，全国餐饮消费规模较2019年同期增长92%，景点门票订票量实现翻倍增长。

Data from online food delivery platform Ele.me also showed that visitors' demand for instant on-demand delivery services skyrocketed during the five-day holiday.

在线外卖平台“饿了么”数据显示，五天的“五一”假期期间，游客对即时外卖的需求猛增。

Delivery of maternity and newborn care products, personal care items, daily necessities and other retail merchandise increased by more than two times compared to the same period last year, according to the company.

“饿了么”称，母婴护理用品、个人护理用品、日用品和其他零售商品的交易量环比增长了两倍以上。

Going forward, efforts to further expand domestic demand and unlock greater consumption potential should remain high on government work agenda, in a bid to strengthen the intrinsic impetus for the country's pursuit of high-quality development, said Su Jian, director of the National Center for Economic Research at Peking University.

北京大学国民经济研究中心主任苏剑表示，下一步，要把进一步扩大内需、释放更大消费潜力作为政府工作重点，增强国家高质量发展的内生动力。

The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday urged efforts to boost household incomes through multiple channels, improve the consumption environment and promote services consumption in such fields as culture and tourism.

4月28日，中共中央政治局召开会议，要求多渠道增加居民收入，改善消费环境，促进文化旅游等领域的服务消费。

Su said a stable recovery and continuous growth in consumption relies much on fuller and better employment as salary raises have a direct bearing on people's spending power. Only by taking concrete steps to help raise people's incomes can the expansion of consumption over the long run be realized.

苏剑表示，消费的稳定复苏和持续增长在很大程度上取决于更充分和更好的就业，因为工资增长直接关系到人们的消费能力。只有采取切实措施，帮助提高人民收入，才能实现扩大消费的长远目标。

In addition, businesses should explore every possible means to improve the quality of goods and services and better harness digital technologies to widen consumption channels and bolster consumers' willingness to spend, he said.

苏剑表示，在这以外，企业应想方设法提高商品和服务质量，更好地利用数字技术拓宽消费渠道，增强消费者消费意愿。

Commerce

英/ˈkɒmɜːs/ 美/ˈkɑːmɜːrs/

n.贸易，商业

Consumption

英/kənˈsʌmpʃ(ə)n/ 美/kənˈsʌmpʃ(ə)n/

n.消费