East China's Fujian province officially launches a shopping festival entitled "Happy Shopping in Fujian" on May 1 to stimulate consumption. [Photo/Official WeChat account: fjswwxgzh] 

East China's Fujian province officially launched a shopping festival to stimulate consumption and offset some of the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to news released by the Department of Commerce of Fujian Province on May 1.

The event, entitled "Happy Shopping in Fujian", consisted of 27 online and offline activities and was attended by government officials and representatives from several well-known e-commerce platforms, including e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Authorities said that during the shopping festival, merchants in the province will carry out an array of special activities to spur spending and resuscitate the economy, including handing out shopping coupons and offering special discounts.

In addition, the provincial department of commerce signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Alibaba and said that it will encourage local enterprises to cooperate with Alibaba and roll out promotion plans. 

All levels of government in the province were encouraged to issue electronic consumption coupons through Alipay in an effort to switch consumer focus from online platforms to physical stores, especially to sectors hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic, such as catering and car sales.

Statistics show that the province has offered more than 200 million yuan ($28.28 million) in coupons so far, which is expected to lead to at least 2 billion yuan in consumer spending.

Fujian has also organized a shopping fair to promote local specialties and has offered a platform for catering enterprises to use live streaming and social media to promote themselves.