Chinese shoppers fuel US retail sales

The United States is the top overseas destination for Chinese shoppers and the first choice for a growing number of online shoppers who buy goods through the websites of foreign retailers, a report said on Thursday.

The report, published by the Economic Information Daily and global card solution provider Visa Inc, said 98.19 million Chinese people made overseas trips last year, making China the largest source of tourists in the world. Nearly 96 percent of these people traveled on private business.

Chinese tourists prefer to travel overseas on the strength of their higher income and want to take advantage of the lower taxes that accrue when shopping abroad, the report said.