Shou Xiaoli:
A census taker has already visited the neighborhood where I live. Please continue. The floor is open for the last two questions.
Reuters:
In terms of the retail sales of consumer goods, which sectors have experienced comparatively weak growth, and which have seen rapid growth? Is such growth sustainable? What is the situation in retail services in the third quarter? Thank you.
Liu Aihua:
Thank you for your questions. Based on the statistics for September, the retail sales of petroleum and related products saw comparatively slow recovery with the largest decline, followed by that of telecommunication equipment. These two categories of goods experienced negative growth. The decrease in retail sales of petroleum and related products can be mainly attributed to price factors, since the total retail sales of consumer goods are calculated using current prices. The retail sales of petroleum and related products in the first three quarters saw negative growth, down 16.7% year-on-year, which is a larger decrease than that in September. Therefore, the decline is currently slowing. The retail sales of telecommunication equipment in September declined by 4.6%, while the figure in the first three quarters increased by a total of 7.2%. As for the fluctuation this month, our preliminary estimates show that it is a short-term one as the total increase in the first three quarters is relatively high. The fluctuation is probably due to the fact that various companies launched cellphones onto the market in particular months, or because the period for releasing new products is different from last year, changing from September last year to October this year. It has something to do with these factors.
In general, the retail sales of these two categories declined in September; but the trend shows that they are also improving, and that the decline is narrowing. In general, the retail sales of enterprises (businesses) above the designated size in quite a few categories declined in the first three quarters. It is also worth noting that consumer demand is indeed recovering. In terms of monthly fluctuations, the total retail sales of consumer goods have maintained positive growth for two consecutive months, but the growth is relatively weak. The total retail sales of consumer goods in September increased by 3.3% year-on-year, which is still a low level of recovery. In total, retail sales in the first three quarters fell by 7.2% year-on-year, and this is a relatively big decline. Although recovering, the overall level is relatively low, and there remains work to be done to return to normal levels.
Going forward, we will adhere to the strategic focus of boosting domestic demand, and continue to work on aspects such as raising people's income and improving the consumption environment, so as to further promote the recovery of consumer demand. Thank you.
