Editor's Note:

TheMKS sports Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake is about two weeks away. Now inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, 2025 marks both the first such heritage-tagged Spring Festival and the Year of the Snake. As a new wave of consumption fervor sweeps the nation, China is gathering momentum for an accelerated recovery in 2025. The eight-day holidays are expected to become an "unprecedented" peak season for consumption amid various policies to spur holiday spending. What opportunities will the Spring Festival create for the world? This is one of a series of six articles displaying the market potential of the world's second-largest economy.

As Chinese people prepare to celebrate the impending Chinese Lunar New Year - the Year of the Snake according to Chinese zodiac - which falls on January 29 this year, many foreign companies from various industries including services, luxury goods, and sport products move to introduce a wide range of limited-edition snake-themed items to attract Chinese consumers during the most festive time of a year.

Zodiac elements are integral to traditional Chinese culture, with the snake symbolizing wisdom, courage, and elegance. Many of the limited-edition items highlight the image of the snake, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, accompanied by classic Spring Festival colors such as golden and red - representing good fortunes for the coming year.

Zodiac economy

To celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, US technology giant Apple has released limited-edition AirPods-4 featuring a special Year of the Snake design. On Thursday, Apple unveiled a new Spring Festival short film which marked the eighth year Apple has celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year with a film shot on iPhone, as part of its efforts to impress Chinese consumers.

A view of Apple's new products of the Year of the Snake Photo: screenshot of Apple's official store in Taobao

Swiss sportswear maker On Running has launched snake-themed special-edition apparel, footwear, and accessories, including its stars Cloud X 4 and Cloudtilt shoes. The brand also launched a Spring Festival-themed event to send out blessings featuring the word "On" in an in-depth exchange with Chinese consumers by exploring Chinese culture.

 

A view of On Running's new products of the Year of the Snake Photo: Courtesy of On Running

"Chinese consumers are evolving rapidly," a spokesperson with On Running told the Global Times. "China's huge market reflects a growing demand for diverse sports activities. In addition to jogging, tennis, fitness and outdoor activities are becoming popular choices for many in China. The sports market keeps growing."

Spanish multinational fashion brand Zara told the Global Times on Friday that it is joining hands with Chinese local brand AO YES to release the Year of the Snake products, covering clothing and home appliance products. It said the design of the series originates from Chinese holiday and Chinese knot, and aims to showcase Oriental aesthetics that integrate both tradition and modernization during the Spring Festival.

 

ZARA teams up with Chinese brand AO YES to launch a Year of the Snake co-branded collection on January 9, 2025. The limited-time pop-up space makes its debut on Beijing East Road, Shanghai. Photo: Courtesy of ZARA

Swiss watch brand Longines has launched a special edition of its Conquest Heritage model to celebrate the Year of the Snake in 2025. Renowned Chinese artist Wu Jian'an was invited to create a special design, which features a mystical snake holding a Lingzhi mushroom in its mouth, intricately engraved on the caseback, according to the brand's website.

A view of Longines's new products of the Year of the Snake Photo: screenshot of Longines's official store in Taobao

German sports brand Adidas said the anatomy of a snake is mirrored throughout the Lunar New Year collection, guiding wearers to fresh possibilities. The pieces include the Combot Pant and Track Top with repeating prints, along with snake arm sleeve detailing and a regular premium fit.

A view of Adidas's new products of the Year of the Snake Photo: screenshot of Adidas's official store in Taobao

The fact that more foreign companies are willing to explore Chinese traditional culture to capitalize on the "Zodiac economy" reflects the influence of Chinese culture and the country's massive consumption power, Zhang Yi, CEO of the iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times.

Lately, Shanghai Disney Resort announced plans to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival with seasonal events, themed decorations and more, as the company detailed in a press release shared with the Global Times.

 

Shanghai Disney Resort prepares to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year with a variety of seasonal festivities in January 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Disney Resort

Since the resort's opening in June 2016, Shanghai Disneyland theme park has undergone two expansions, as China provides sound business environment and a thriving tourism market.

In 2024, dozens of global heads of multinational companies, such as Apple, Qualcomm, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla, visited China, which is not only a vote of confidence in China's opening-up policy, but also a vote of confidence in the purchase power of Chinese consumers, analysts said.

Thriving market

During the past decade, China has fostered a vibrant domestic market which has contributed greatly to global economic growth.

Chinese market nowadays has a much larger scale, better market structure, more complete rules and institutions, and stronger international influence and attraction. China's middle-income group has reached 400 million people and is expanding toward 800 million in the next 15 years, forming the world's largest and most dynamic middle-income group, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing in December called for intensified efforts to boost consumption, improve investment efficiency and expand domestic demand on all fronts - which is listed as one of the top priorities of the country's economic work in 2025.

"There is still a large, untapped potential in consumption [in China]. It is featured by changing consumer behavior as Chinese consumers become more rational and sophisticated seeking higher-quality goods and services," Denis Depoux, global managing director of Roland Berger, was quoted as saying in a report sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA piloted buyback and resell service in eight markets in 2024 and made its debut at the 7th China International Import Expo held in Shanghai in November. 

 

IKEA deploys small bus with festive decorations to send out Spring Festival blessings. Photo: Courtesy of IKEA

The company told the Global Times that "In recent years, we have witnessed that China has further shifted to the new stage of high-quality development ... We are delighted to see China roll out a series of well-targeted policy measures aimed at expanding high-quality consumption, boosting consumer confidence, and driving long-term economic growth."

Opening up is a defining feature of China's modernization drive. Increasingly, Chinese consumers are embracing the world with open arms, attracting more global companies to invest and focus on exploring the Chinese market, which also helps enhance foreign companies' localization strategies, and fosters product development tailored to Chinese people's preferences, Zhang said.

In the first 11 months of 2024, more than 50,000 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established in China, marking an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase, official data showed.

The Central Economic Work Conference in December has charted a series of arrangements for expanding institutional opening-up and reforming the foreign investment promotion system, which has provided foreign enterprises with greater opportunities and renewed confidence. In their global investment outlook for 2025, multiple foreign investment institutions said they remain optimistic of Chinese economy and the market.

"Investing in China is investing in the future. We welcome countries around the world to seize the opportunities in China, share China's development dividends, and achieve mutual success," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference on Thursday.