A press conference on ensuring market supply and promoting consumption during the Spring Festival is held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

China has become the world's largest online retail market for 12 consecutive years, with online retail sales reaching 15.5 trillion yuan (about 2.16 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2024, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

China's wholesale and retail industries have made steady progress driven by various policies, providing strong support for expanding domestic demand and forging a new development paradigm, Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping told a press conference.

Sheng said that the added value of the wholesale and retail industries reached 13.8 trillion yuan in 2024, accounting for 10.2 percent of the GDP and playing a vital role in smoothing circulation, creating jobs and reducing logistics costs.

The ministry will work with relevant departments to further enrich supporting policies, implement detailed measures and accelerate the promotion of high-quality development of wholesale and retail industries, so as to further smooth the circulation of the national economy, Sheng added.