Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

• May Day travel bookings surge, signaling robust Q2 consumption growth;
• Over 40% of new private enterprises are registered in the "four new economies” in Q1.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

As China gears up for the May Day holidays, a wave of travel bookings has swept across online travel platforms, painting a vivid picture of a burgeoning consumer market, which signals robust consumption growth for the second quarter.

The domestic travel demand is particularly striking this year. Tuniu.com said on Sunday that domestic travel reservations for the five-day May Day holidays have more than doubled year-on-year.

Data from Trip.com showed that in just the past week, domestic hotel searches soared 100 percent week-on-week, while flight ticket searches spiked 80 percent. 

Meituan Travel said that since early April, searches for "May Day travel" have increased by more than 500 percent year-on-year, searches for "tourist attractions" have risen 167 percent and the popularity of five-star hotels has climbed nearly 40 percent.

The trends in this year's May Day travel market are diverse and eye-catching. Inbound tourism has experienced explosive growth, with Trip.com reporting that the search index for inbound hotels during the May Day holiday period has surged 200 percent year-on-year, while inbound tourism bookings have increased by 173 percent.

The viral success of American YouTuber IShowSpeed's China travel series and recent policies like the instant tax refund for overseas tourists have significantly contributed to this growth, according to Trip.com.

Economists are optimistic about the far-reaching impact of these trends, as major holidays serve as key barometers of consumer trends. This holiday consumption surge is set to further accelerate overall consumption growth in the second quarter, they said.

Official data also reflected positive momentum. First-quarter retail sales expanded 4.6 percent year-on-year, 1.1 percentage points faster than in 2024, reaching 12.47 trillion yuan. 

Notably, services consumption outpaced goods sales, with retail sales of services growing 5 percent year-on-year. Per capita expenditure on transportation and communications rose 10.4 percent, while spending on education, culture and entertainment increased 13.9 percent.

GBA express

• The first phase of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, concluded on Saturday. By April 19, a total of 148,585 overseas buyers from 216 countries and regions had attended the event, marking a 20.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
• Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is set to lead a delegation to visit Zhejiang on Tuesday. The group will attend the the Hong Kong/Zhejiang Co-operation Conference in Hangzhou, and the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Conference in Ningbo. Hong Kong and Zhejiang have long maintained frequent exchanges, keeping close ties in economic affairs and trade, cultural exchanges and youth engagement, Lee said.
• Hong Kong's associate director-general of investment promotion at InvestHK Charles Ng commenced his duty visit to India's Mumbai and New Delhi on Sunday. Ng's visit includes high-level discussions with prominent Indian firms and investors focusing on establishing a presence in Hong Kong to capitalize on its strategic advantages to expand into the Chinese mainland and across North Asia and Southeast Asia.

Industry and company news

• Over 1.97 million private enterprises were established in China in the first quarter of the year, up 7.1 percent from a year earlier, data from the SAMR showed today. China’s registered private enterprises topped 57 million as of March 31, accounting for over 92 percent of the country’s total. New quality productive forces have become a key highlight for China's private sector, with 836,000 new private firms registered in the "four new economies”, namely new technologies, industries, business formats, and models, accounting for over 40 percent of new private enterprises in the period. 
• Chinese e-commerce giant JD announced on Monday that, starting today, consumers who wait more than 20 minutes for their takeaway orders will receive them free of charge. This move comes as its rival restricts food delivery riders to take orders from only one platform. The company said in an open letter that it will step up the recruitment of full-time delivery riders, raising the quota from 50,000 to 100,000 in the next three months.
• Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won the world's first humanoid robot half marathon in Yizhuang, Beijing's Daxing district, on April 19. It crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 40 minutes, with Noetix's N2 coming in second and the robot of Shanghai-based DroidUp third.
• BYD’s luxury brand Yangwang said today its sales have exceeded 10,000 units, setting a new milestone for China’s premium car segment. New Oriental founder Yu Minhong was the 10,000th buyer after getting a Yangwang U8.
• A Boeing 737 MAX set for delivery at Boeing’s Completion Center in Zhoushan in China’s Zhejiang province departed today for Seattle, media learned today. Due to the US new “reciprocal tariffs,” Chinese airlines have started suspending acceptance of Boeing aircraft.
• China will provide subsidies of no less than 1 billion yuan for movie tickets, as the country launched the China Film Consumption Year campaign, which will last till the end of next year’s Spring Festival movie season.
• China’s grain output will likely top 709 million tons this year, with the soybean output growing 2.5 percent to 21.2 million tons from the previous year, according to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs yesterday.
• China's one-year loan prime rate, a market-based benchmark lending rate, remained unchanged at 3.1 percent in April from March, according to the National Interbank Funding Center. The over-five-year LPR also stayed the same at 3.6 percent.

Asia-Pacific highlights

• Koh King Kee, President of Malaysia’s Centre for New Inclusive Asia, said in an exclusive interview with 21st Century Business Herald that intimate interactions between Malaysian and Chinese leaders reflect political mutual trust, aiding in addressing U.S. tariff challenges. Koh believes global trade turbulence from U.S. "reciprocal tariffs" will, to some extent, indirectly advance economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN. Having followed China for 40 years, Koh has personally witnessed the great achievements of China’s reform and opening-up and the vigorous momentum of Chinese-style modernization. Looking ahead, with the expected signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement 3.0, Koh believes Malaysia and China can explore broader cooperation in the digital economy. As China and Malaysia have already launched local currency settlement cooperation, Malaysia is expected to gain more convenience in cross-border trade and investment settlement, he said.

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC