China is moving to improve the shopping experience for foreign visitors to the country, with the nation's first online departure tax refund store launched in Beijing to optimize tax refund services and boost inbound consumption, experts said on Tuesday.

The move is expected to create more consumption scenarios and encourage stronger inbound spending, as China's inbound travel and shopping market gains momentum on the back of expanded visa-free access, improved departure tax refund measures and the "Shopping in China" campaign, they added.

Beijing launched the country's first online departure tax refund store and rolled out centralized departure tax refund services for an initial group of hotels on Tuesday, the Beijing Municipal Tax Service said.

Available on JD, a major Chinese e-commerce platform, the online store enables foreign visitors to buy products carrying a dedicated "departure tax refund" label and complete the refund application process at point-of-sale checkout.

A JD executive in charge of the departure tax refund business said the online store currently offers tax-refund-eligible products across six major categories — including digital products and household appliances — to meet the diverse shopping needs of foreign visitors to China.

Dai Mingfeng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the online store marks a shift in China's departure tax refund services from an offline, location-based model to a more integrated online-offline network.

Beyond the online store, Beijing is also extending departure tax refund services to key travel and consumption venues such as hotels, further improving the citywide refund service network. Empark Prime Hotel Beijing and JW Marriott Hotel Beijing Central are among the first hotels in the city to offer centralized refund services.

"For foreign travelers, the new services will make it possible to purchase tax-refund-eligible products online and complete refund procedures at hotels, helping reduce time and improving the overall shopping experience in China," Dai said.

The capital's latest measures followed recent national efforts to improve departure tax refund services and boost inbound spending. In May, the Ministry of Commerce and other authorities issued a notice outlining measures to further optimize departure tax refunds and expand inbound consumption.

The policy package includes measures such as expanding the coverage of tax refund stores, introducing spot checks for small-value refund applications, promoting paperless processing and improving refund-upon-purchase services, according to the notice.

Beijing's departure tax refund consumption has also posted robust growth.

Piao Xuedong, director general of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, said at a news conference last month that the city's departure tax refund consumption rose 66 percent year-on-year in 2025 and expanded by 50 percent in the first quarter this year.

zhangchenxu@chinadaily.com.cn