On January 22nd, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, He Yongqian, stated that by 2025, China's consumer market will maintain a stable development trend, with both scale and quality improving, and the advantages of a super large market continuing to emerge. Overall, three key words can be used to summarize the characteristics of the consumer market throughout the year. One is expansion. In 2025, the total retail sales of consumer goods in society will exceed 50 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 50.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.7%, and the contribution rate of final consumer expenditure to economic growth will be 52%. The second is to benefit the people. By 2025, efforts will be made to implement the trade in policy for consumer goods, driving sales of related categories to reach 261 trillion yuan, and 366 million people will enjoy real benefits. The retail sales of household appliances, furniture, cultural office supplies, and communication equipment for units above the quota increased by 11%, 14.6%, 17.3%, and 20.9% respectively. The third is to improve the quality. New types of consumption such as green and intelligent are flourishing. Last year, the retail sales of new energy vehicles increased by 17.6%, and the penetration rate continued to improve. By the end of 2025, for every 10 passenger cars sold, 6 were new energy vehicles. According to business big data, the number of consumers purchasing first level energy-efficient or water efficient household appliances in 2025 has increased by 20% compared to the previous year, with smart glasses, smartwatches, and smart bracelets all growing by over 40%. Health consumption continues to expand, with retail sales of sports and entertainment products increasing by 15.7%. He Yongqian stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will adhere to the close combination of benefiting the people's livelihood and promoting consumption, driven by both policies and activities, and continuously unleash the potential and vitality of consumption. In addition, in terms of outbound investment, He Yongqian introduced that in 2025, under the guidance of high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", Chinese enterprises' outbound investment will maintain a healthy, stable and orderly development. By the end of 2025, China will have established over 50000 enterprises overseas, covering 190 countries and regions. The stock of outbound investment has remained among the top three in the world for nine consecutive years. In 2025, outward direct investment will reach 174.38 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.1% over the previous year, ranking among the top in the world. At the same time, Chinese companies that are actively fulfilling their social responsibilities in "going global" have solved over 2 million job opportunities annually. We have invested in the construction of a large number of education, health, environmental protection and livelihood facilities, which have won widespread praise from various sectors of the host country. (New Society)