Shanxi province is set to strengthen its domestic market and enhance the level of openness during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), aiming for continuous growth in goods and services consumption and targeting 1 trillion yuan ($149.43 billion) in total retail sales of consumer goods.

The province will accelerate the development of new consumption formats and scenarios, creating immersive and interactive consumer experiences. It also plans to standardize the growth of live-streaming e-commerce and instant retail, bolster digital, green, and health-related consumption, and encourage smart consumption.

Over the next five years, Shanxi will implement the "1+N" opening-up policy framework. This will steadily advance institutional openness, foster coordinated development in international trade and investment, and ensure benefits reach more market participants and the general public.

Shanxi will also implement national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises, host foreign enterprise roundtables, and build the "Invest in China · Dialogue with Shanxi" brand to effectively manage the transfer of foreign manufacturers from the eastern regions.

Li Guorong, deputy director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Commerce, said establishing a new inland opening-up hub is a major mission for Shanxi. From January to August, the province had 2,979 companies with actual import and export activities, and the trade volume with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increased by 8.9 percent year-on-year.

Li emphasizes that Shanxi aims to deepen practical cooperation with BRI countries in fields such as technological innovation, green energy, traditional Chinese medicine, cultural tourism, sports, and specialty agriculture.