China's efforts to attract international visitors are increasingly translating into higher tourist spending, with overseas travelers buying more goods during their trips amid improved tax refund policies and visa-free entry policies, according to a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) official on Monday.

The upgraded tax refund policy (version 2.0) took effect on the first day of July, aiming to make shopping easier for overseas visitors and convert inbound tourist flows into consumer spending.
"Policies facilitating entry and exit procedures have been continuously improved. The version 2.0 of departure tax refund policy went into effect on July 1. More and more overseas visitors are coming to China for shopping, sightseeing, and quality consumption. In July, many regions saw significant growth in the value of goods eligible for departure tax refunds. The flow of 'China travel' is increasingly translating into growth in 'China shopping'," said Wang Guanhua, NBS spokeswoman.
Version 1.0, launched in April 2025, lowered the minimum purchase threshold for a single transaction from 500 yuan to 200 yuan, raised the cash refund ceiling from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, expanded the coverage of tax refund stores and promoted refund-upon-purchase services.
The latest upgrade further targets bottlenecks in the refund process through measures such as random inspections for small-value refund applications, improved digital services, and optimized refund-upon-purchase services.
China's total retail sales of goods and services, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, increased by 2.6 percent year on year in the first seven months of 2026, according to Wang.