As China intensifies efforts to expand domestic demand and boost consumption, Jinjiang, a coastal city in Fujian province, is leveraging its manufacturing strengths to cultivate new growth drivers, underscoring the role of supply upgrading in supporting demand growth, experts said.

Their remarks came as the monthlong "Super Jinjiang, Happy Shopping in Beijing" consumption promotion campaign, launched on March 15, brought together 12 prominent Chinese consumer brands, including sportswear brands Anta, Xtep and Kelme, menswear brand Lilanz and fitness equipment supplier SHUA Fitness.

More than 200 stores across the capital are rolling out synchronized discounts, covering a full spectrum of consumer goods from professional sportswear, high-end business apparel and fitness equipment to daily casual wear.

"The campaign is Jinjiang's step to cultivate new consumption momentum," said Lin Qi, director of the Jinjiang Commerce Bureau."For brands from Jinjiang, it signals a decisive upgrade from selling products to building brands."

Jinjiang is using its "Super Jinjiang" shopping IP as a key platform, fully unlocking consumption potential and guiding local enterprises to explore new growth areas such as the IP economy, fashion economy and debut economy, Lin said.

"Enterprises are encouraged to expand the supply of new products tailored to interest-driven, green, and health-focused consumption, so as to meet the public's evolving demand for diversified, personalized and high-quality goods," Lin said.

This local initiative aligns with national priorities. In this year's Government Work Report, building a robust domestic market was listed among the top major tasks, with special initiatives to boost consumption set to continue. Around 250 billion yuan ($36.36 billion) in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be earmarked for consumer goods trade-in programs, according to the report.

Beyond a short-term stimulus, China's strategy also focuses on industrial upgrading to stabilize employment and raise incomes over the medium term, and on strengthening social security, income support, and public services to shore up consumer confidence in the long run.

The scale and ambition of the campaign are backed by Jinjiang's industrial heritage and vibrant private sector, the core of the widely recognized "Jinjiang Experience".

The "Jinjiang Experience" refers to the transformation of Jinjiang, once a poor county in Fujian province with a large population and limited land, into an economic powerhouse with a well-developed economy.

It focuses on the real economy, draws momentum from reform and innovation, and stresses effective government-enterprise cooperation.

This forward-looking strategy has enabled Jinjiang to become one of China's top county-level economies and a representative model of Chinese modernization at the local level.

"In 2025, Jinjiang's GDP reached 386.18 billion yuan, and its economic aggregate remained among the top three counties nationwide," said Wang Mingyuan, secretary of the CPC Jinjiang Municipal Committee.

Bai Wenxi, vice-chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Union, said China is at a crucial stage of consumption upgrading, and the Jinjiang model, by translating manufacturing strengths into fresh consumption drivers, represents not only a practical response to near-term economic pressures, but also a long-term step toward building a new development paradigm.

"Supply upgrading provides the fundamental support for expanding domestic demand," he added. "Only through sustained investment in research and development, as well as continued improvements in product quality, can companies generate real and effective consumer demand."

Tu Tian, Jiang Xueqing, Yan Xingzhou and Zhang Chenxu contributed to this story.