China’s commerce ministry and propaganda organs have launched a nationwide campaign to boost consumption amid calls by President Xi Jinping to focus on an “internal economic circle” as the country faces the headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic and growing global isolation.

The campaign began on Sept. 9 and will culminate in the week-long holiday starting on Oct. 1, China’s National Day. State-run news agency China News Service reported rosy figures on Thursday, saying the country’s consumption of goods and services hit 980 billion yuan (US$144 billion) during the campaign’s first week, an 8.1% increase over a week earlier.

The event is organized by the commerce ministry and the China Media Group, a state-run company that controls China Central Television and national radio stations. The campaign purports to encompass more than 2 millions shops and online vendors operated by some 100,000 businesses and covering 179 major cities.

China News Service also cited an economist at China Association of Policy Science, Xu Hongcai, in its Thursday report, as saying there was a need to promote online shopping as a new consumption model.

Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping said China should focus on its so-called “internal economic circle,” or the domestic market, amid global economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The campaign’s effectiveness in boosting consumption was questioned by a Hong Kong-based economist.

Instead of promotions or discounts, the country’s overall economic conditions played the key role in consumers' incentives to buy, said Law Ka-chung, former chief economist at the Bank of Communications. The impact of the so-called golden week holidays had also diminished in recent years, Law added.

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