Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, May 22 (Xinhua) — U.S. retail giant Walmart has started construction of its Sam’s Club, the largest in terms of operating area in northern China. The launch ceremony for the facility was held in Tianjin on May 20, demonstrating the U.S. retail giant’s readiness to further explore China’s vast consumer market.
The new Sam’s Club, with a total floor area of 25,000 square meters, will operate under a multi-channel model, combining one physical store with 20 digital service centers when it opens in 2026, to meet consumer demand for diversified and high-end products in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The new Sam’s Club will also be Walmart’s third such store in Tianjin, as Walmart views Tianjin as the most important strategic city in its development of northern China.
Since Walmart opened its first store in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, southern China, in 1996, the total number of its stores has now reached 55 across China, with gross annual sales of more than 100 billion yuan (about $13.9 billion) in 2024.
Data released by Walmart showed that its net sales in China reached $6.7 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 22.5 percent year-on-year.
“We are very proud of Sam’s Club’s growth in China,” Christina Zhu, president and chief operating officer of Walmart China, said at the company’s investment call last month. She said eight Sam’s Club stores are expected to report revenue growth of $500 million or more each this year.
Walmart has ramped up its investment in China in recent years, announcing in December 2023 a plan to open six to seven Sam’s Club stores in China each year. It currently has more than 10 such facilities under construction in Beijing, Guangdong, and Zhejiang.
Sam’s Club’s successful development is directly related to the continued expansion of imports into China, which set a new record in 2024 and reached 18 trillion yuan.
China, as a super-scale market with a population of 1.4 billion, has maintained its status as the second largest global consumer goods market and the world’s largest online retail market for more than a decade. In the first quarter of 2025, the total retail volume of consumer goods reached 12.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.6 percent.
The advantages of China’s mega market lie in aspects such as the overall size of the economy, market capacity, industrial system and human capital, said Yu Yongding, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, adding that the multifaceted advantages have made the Chinese economy more resilient and competitive.
Despite the intensification of global protectionist obstacles, 12,603 enterprises with foreign capital were opened in China in the first three months of this year. In March, the volume of actual foreign investment in the country increased by 13.2 percent compared to March 2024.
“Multinationals like Walmart are voting with their capital for confidence in the viability of the Chinese economy and the attractiveness of its market,” Yu Yongding said. -0-