Executives: Consumption upgrade opening up commercial opportunities

Companies that have seized opportunities to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers will see great development in China, business executives said when discussing new forms of consumption during a forum held at the Lancaster University Confucius Institute on Wednesday.

China's per-capita GDP exceeded $10,000 in 2019 for the first time, reaching $10,276, figures from the country's National Bureau of Statistics showed.

The increased wealth has seen more people interested in an active healthy lifestyle, with winter sports proving particularly attractive.

"If you look at people's activity based on their annual income, skiing is (the sport) right at the $10,000 per capita," Jason Li Jianqiu, director of the international investment bank DC Advisory, said during a roundtable discussion. "People start to think about having some adventures, more fun, but also being healthy, and skiing is there."

In 2015, when Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, China set a goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports. The promotion of winter sports leading up to Beijing 2022 resulted in 346 million Chinese taking part in ice and snow sports and related leisure activities, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The winter economy has brought economic opportunities in the Chinese market for domestic and international companies.

This, according to Li, explains why China has become a highlight for global brands, such as French winter sports company Rossignol, which has grown fast in China.

China's ice and snow industry surged 51.88 percent to 578.8 billion yuan in 2021 and is predicted to surpass 800 billion yuan this year, according to the 2022 China Ice and Snow Industry Research Report released at the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services.

For future consumption trends, there will be more Chinese local brands and designers, and more products — not only those made in China, but also those designed for China, and used by Chinese, Li said. "We have seen a lot of that already, and that trend will go on."

"Hopefully, in the future, we'll have enough confidence in designer products, in the quality, in the whole value chain, and we can export that to the overseas market."

The business forum attracted executives from accounting, consulting, construction, investment banking, industrial parks, language services and other industries to share their experiences on new forms of consumption and opportunities for growth, and the challenges around business cooperation between China and the United Kingdom.

They also called for more communication between the two countries to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation, benefiting people from both countries.