The official website of China's Ministry of Commerce reports that the international retail giant Wal-Mart has set up a new wholly-owned subsidiary in Hebei.

French jewelry retailer Van Cleef & Arpels has announced that the company plans to make China one of its major markets and it will double the number of its retail stores in China in 2010.

Statistics released by Beijing Statistics Bureau show that retail sales in the Chinese capital increased by 15.1% year-on-year to CNY96.77 billion in the first two months of 2010.

According to a report released by the global environmental organization Greenpeace, the U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart has been selling genetically modified rice in China.

Nanchang, the capital of China's Jiangxi province, plans to promote the concept of green food service among the city's food and beverage service providers and will encourage consumers to buy in an environmentally friendly manner.

Jiang Zengwei, the deputy director of China's Ministry of Commerce, and Fang Aiqing, the assistant director of the Ministry of Commerce, said during an interview that China plans to boost its overall consumption through five measures.