Chinese Spent $160b on Overseas Goods: Commerce Minister

More than 100 million Chinese took foreign trips in 2014 and their overseas consumption surpassed 1 trillion yuan ($159.62 billion), said Gao Hucheng, Minister of Commerce, at a press conference on March 7.

The main reason for the boom in overseas consumption is the price difference between the domestic and international markets, according to the minister of commerce.

The difference was primarily caused by high taxes and fees, especially the consumption tax on certain products, high cost of domestic circulation and price strategies of foreign brands, Gao added.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)