More tax refund stores set to open

China plans to accelerate the availability of tax refund stores for eligible overseas visitors to about 10,000 shops nationwide this year, almost tripling the current number, as the country continues to boost inbound tourism and consumption, a senior official said.

By the end of last year, China had more than 3,700 stores nationwide available for tax refunds for overseas visitors, adding more than 600 stores over the previous year, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Promoting inbound consumption serves as an important lever to help vigorously boost consumption, and it holds great growth potential. It will also help offset the impact of additional tariffs to a certain extent, said Sheng Qiuping, vice-minister of commerce, during a conference on Thursday in Beijing.

China will continue to optimize the layout of tax refund stores, encourage various regions to set up such stores in major commercial complexes, shopping streets, tourist attractions, resorts, cultural and museum venues, airports, passenger ports, hotels and other places where overseas tourists gather, according to a guideline issued by the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments in late April.

The country has lowered the starting point for tax refunds from 500 yuan ($69.3) to 200 yuan and doubled the limit for cash refunds from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan.

In addition, the country will relax the registration requirements for retailers to become tax refund stores, allowing newly opened shops that have been established for less than a year to apply to become tax refund shops, and the filing time has been shortened to within five working days, the guideline said.

"Tax refund stores are also encouraged to broaden product offerings to include time-honored brands, renowned Chinese consumer goods, smart devices, intangible cultural heritage items, crafts and specialty products," Sheng said.

Globally, Japan has more than 60,000 stores that are available for tax refunds for overseas visitors, and South Korea has some 20,000 such stores. France, Germany and Italy each have over 10,000 such stores. The number of such stores in China is far from enough, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Last year, total expenditure of inbound tourists in China reached $94.2 billion, accounting for 0.5 percent of China's GDP, which is lower than the proportions of 1 percent to 3 percent for major countries in the world, said the commerce ministry.

"Accelerating the promotion of the tax refund policy will help reduce shopping costs for overseas travelers and inject new impetus to boost consumption. This is an important measure for China to cope with external uncertainties," Sheng said.

China has been opening its doors wider to international travelers. In 2024, the country expanded its unilateral visa-free policy to include 38 countries, allowing visits of up to 30 days, according to the National Immigration Administration.

Multiple favorable policies have helped significantly boost inbound consumption. During the recent five-day May Day holiday, the country saw the number of inbound and outbound passenger trips of foreign visitors exceed 1.1 million, up 43.1 percent year-on-year, said the National Immigration Administration.

Shanghai, one of the cities with the highest concentration of foreign tourists, said inbound consumption has become an important lever for it to actively respond to the trade frictions between China and the United States, and promoting inbound consumption will help the city to build itself into an international consumption center.