An employee promotes cosmetic products via live streaming at a shop in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Li Yaohui/for China Daily]

Zhejiang authorities, in cooperation with local businesses, offered the province's residents 30 billion yuan ($4.64 billion) worth of shopping coupons in 2020, which gave rise to 314.8 billion yuan in consumption, said officials of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Conference at a work conference held on Jan 14.

"Handing out shopping coupons is just one move among myriad initiatives by Zhejiang authorities to stimulate consumption," said an official.

The Zhejiang provincial government took the national lead in releasing 16 guidelines to promote consumption in March 2020, proposing six major campaigns involving online shopping sites and commercial hubs.

Statistics show that more than 530 items of consumption-boosting policies were rolled out at the county, municipal, and provincial levels in Zhejiang last year.