China has maintained its position as the world’s largest online retail market for the 12th consecutive year, with online retail sales reaching 15.5 trillion yuan (about US$2.16 trillion) in 2024, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

China’s wholesale and retail industry has made stable progress, driven by diversified policies to vigorously support the expansion of domestic demand and forge a new development model, Vice Minister of Commerce Cheng Qiuping said at a press conference.

The added value of wholesale and retail trade will reach 13.8 trillion yuan in 2024, accounting for 10.2 per cent of GDP, and will play an important role in facilitating economic mobility, creating jobs and reducing logistics costs, Xing said.

The ministry will work with relevant departments to further enrich supporting policies, implement detailed measures and accelerate the push for high-quality development of wholesale and retail trade to further facilitate the movement of the national economy, Cheng said.