On August 13, 2026, nine departments including the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance issued the “Opinions on Further Energizing Lower-Tier Markets and Boosting County-Level Consumption”, calling for tailored consumption scenarios to sustainably prosper county markets.
1) Upgrading county retail channels: accelerate the renovation of traditional department stores and aging shopping centers, deepen the “thousand markets, ten-thousand stores” upgrade; using existing property or land for elderly care, childcare and other county livelihood industries can enjoy a 5-year transition-period support policy without changing the land user or planning conditions.
2) Innovation and branding: guide chain enterprises to expand into lower-tier markets and adopt “one license, multiple addresses”; promote time-honored brands and domestic trendy products to counties; encourage emerging formats such as “AI + consumption”, virtual reality and immersive experiences.
3) Better supply of goods and services: expand supply of quality, reasonably priced goods; vigorously promote new-energy vehicles and green smart products to the countryside and expand rural charging infrastructure; implement county elderly-care service upgrades and extend the “15-minute convenient living circle” to counties.
4) Modern logistics and safeguards: deepen “digital commerce for agriculture”, build “village livestream academies”; county industrial land may incorporate up to 15% of supporting office and living facilities by floor area; strengthen fiscal and financial support for county consumption.
Source: Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (mofcom.gov.cn), original link: https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2026/art_39e326e1c5a44c16b7b18f5ec6c62baf.html | Compiled and organized by Hongshengze.