Consumers unruffled by fluctuations in wider economy

Despite major swings in the wider economy over the past two years, growth in consumer spending appears to have been relatively stable. The latest data on retail sales in the Chinese New Year period suggest this trend continues. Spending during the holiday was 11% higher than last year, a similar pace of increase to that in 2016 and 2015. Growth in tourism revenue during the holiday period edged down, but has been broadly stable since 2012.