MNI POLICY: China May Holiday Spending Recovers, Ministry Says

     BEIJING (MNI) - Spending on restaurants and hotels in China during the May

Labour Day holiday recovered to about 70% of last year's level as curbs on

travel and social gathering were eased, while consumer retail sales also

rebounded quickly, spokesman Gao Feng of the Ministry of Commerce said in an

online briefing on Thursday.

     During the five-day Labour Day break, the so-called national consumption

recovery index of the catering and accommodation industries rose 18.84 and 15.25

percentage points respectively, compared with the three-day Qingming holiday in

early April, Gao said.

     The average daily sales of home appliances, necessities, cosmetics, and

clothing monitored by the Ministry increased by 71.1%, 53.7%, 38.8%, and 31.2%

respectively over the April break, Gao added.

     Here are other key points of the press conference:

     - Export channels for epidemic prevention materials are running smoothly

and the scale of exports continues to grow at a significant pace, said Gao, when

asked to comment on U.S. media reports that China is limiting exports of

anti-virus supplies.

     - Though the decline in April foreign trade was more moderate than seen in

March, the sector still faces greater pressure as the global spread of the

coronavirus continues, said Gao. Exporters still struggle with winning new

orders, cancelled or delayed orders and poor logistics, Gao added.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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