The province of Shandong has launched a campaign to boost domestic demand, unleash the potential of domestic demand and encourage consumer spending so as to contribute to the building of the new dual-circulation development pattern.

A consumer looks at a tin of milk powder in Linyi, Shandong province. [Photo provided for China Daily]

According to a recent news conference held by the Information Office of Shandong Provincial People's Government, the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce will join with other departments and enterprises to host the "2021 Shandong Consumption Year of Benefit" that will run for about a year.

Three large sales promotional events will be held around the May Day holiday, the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chinese New Year, each lasting for months and featuring more than 210 themed online and offline sales promotions.

Two livestreamers sell children's shoes in the Shunhe e-commerce livestreaming industrial park in Linyi, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Other measures will be launched, including the boosting of consumption in the smart retail, online education and home appliance sectors, as well as encouraging areas that have restrictions on car purchases to increase the number of car registrations and offer subsidies for the purchase of new energy vehicles.

Measures would also be introduced to boost the sales of farm products and the province's time-honored brands.

Shandong officials said that the move is designed to further cultivate new types of consumption and promote the growth of both online and offline consumption, which is of great importance to the creation of the new development paradigm.

A driver charges his new energy vehicle in Weifang, Shandong province. [Photo by Wang Jilin/For China Daily]

Official statistics show that the province's consumer market has experienced an accelerated recovery. In the first quarter of the year, the retail sales of consumer goods in the province reached 756.69 billion yuan, an increase of 30.4 percent year-on-year and up 10.6 percent over the same period in 2019, with an average growth of 5.2 percent in the two years.