Ministry of Commerce: From January to July, China's e-commerce continued to innovate and develop, online retail sales of agricultural products and rural products increased by 12.8% and 5% respectively

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the head of the e-commerce department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the e-commerce development situation in China from January to July 2026. In January-July, e-commerce in China was steadily innovating and developing. Online and offline integration stimulated consumption potential, digital intelligence enabled industrial transformation and upgrading, expanded the breadth and depth of international economic and trade cooperation, and helped strengthen, improve, and expand the real economy. According to business big data monitoring, online retail sales of agricultural products and rural products increased by 12.8% and 5% respectively in January-July. E-commerce transactions in the industrial and chemical products industries increased by 1.4% and 1.2% respectively in January-July.

The original text is as follows:

The head of the E-Commerce Department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the e-commerce development situation in China from January to July 2026

From January to July 2026, e-commerce in China will steadily innovate and develop. Online and offline integration stimulates consumption potential, digital intelligence empowers industrial transformation and upgrading, expands the breadth and depth of international economic and trade cooperation, and helps strengthen, improve and expand the real economy.

Promote the stable operation of the consumer market. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales of online goods and services nationwide increased by 4.8% from January to July. According to estimates by the Ministry of Commerce, it contributed more than 50% to the increase in retail sales of social goods and services. Online channels expand the scope of product consumption and improve the convenience of service consumption. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, units above the January-July limit accounted for 28.7% of retail sales of products via the Internet, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the same period last year; on e-commerce platforms, the Ministry of Commerce focused on monitoring e-commerce platforms, sales of online travel and online lifestyle services increased 24.9% and 16.3% respectively in January-July.

Empower the transformation and upgrading of the three major industries. E-commerce leverages the advantages of innovative technology, massive data and diverse scenarios to promote the digital transformation of agriculture, industry, and service industries. “Digital commerce to develop agriculture” continues to deepen, promoting the deep integration of digital technology with agricultural and rural development. According to business big data monitoring, online retail sales of agricultural products and rural products increased by 12.8% and 5% respectively in January-July. Guide all regions to cultivate “e-commerce plus industrial belts” and organize e-commerce platforms to connect with characteristic industrial clusters. According to business big data monitoring, e-commerce transactions in the industrial and chemical products industries increased by 1.4% and 1.2% respectively in January-July. Online shopping, digital content, etc. are driving the rapid growth of related service industries. According to data from the State Post Office, China's express delivery business revenue increased by 7.4% in January-July; according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's mobile Internet traffic increased 17.7% in January-June.

Expand the breadth and depth of economic and trade cooperation. The “Silk Road E-commerce Benefits the World” theme event continued to advance. The first two overseas branch venues were set up in Egypt and Morocco at the Yunshang Lecture Hall, attracting the participation of nearly 1,000 e-commerce practitioners from 21 Arab countries. Xinjiang, Hebei, Shaanxi, Jiangsu and other places held the “Silk Road Cloud Products” series of activities to help “export” high-quality products to “China”. From January to July, business big data focused on monitoring cross-border e-commerce import platforms. Sales of Serbian wine, Bangladeshi coffee beans, and New Zealand butter increased by 122.5%, 112.2%, and 69.4%, respectively.

This article was selected from the “Ministry of Commerce” official website, Zhitong Finance Editor: Liu Jiayin.