At the Egypt section of the 22nd China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair, held in Shenzhen from May 21 to 25, hand-painted papyrus artworks - a traditional craft with origins along the Nile - attracted a steady stream of visitors, the Hubei Daily reported on Monday. Beyond the exhibition hall, the interest surrounding the display reflected a broader development in China's consumer economy: spending is no longer concentrated solely on daily necessities, but is also extending to products associated with culture, craftsmanship and personal experience. For overseas businesses and cultural producers alike, this is creating additional room for engagement with the Chinese market beyond traditional consumer trade.

According to media reports, papyrus is made from plants grown along the Nile, whose stalks are sliced into thin strips, layered crosswise, pressed and dried, with the plant's natural sugars binding the fibers into a durable writing surface. In ancient Egypt, it was used to record history and religious life. Its appearance at this year's cultural industries fair formed only a small part of a much broader international gathering. According to a report by the Xinhua News Agency, the event drew participants from 65 countries and regions, with 310 overseas exhibitors taking part online and on-site, including 148 companies from 42 countries and regions attending in person.

Viewed more broadly, the fair also offers a glimpse into wider developments taking shape in China's economy. These trends can be observed from several dimensions. One is the expansion of the cultural industries, supported in part by the deeper integration of digital and intelligent technologies into cultural production and services. What was once viewed largely as a traditional cultural sector is becoming increasingly connected with digital technologies, online content, immersive experiences and technology-enabled creative services. In turn, this is broadening the industry's commercial reach and contributing to new forms of consumer demand.

The scale of that expansion is increasingly reflected in official data. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's cultural enterprises generated operating revenue of 15.2135 trillion yuan ($2.24 trillion) in 2025, up 7.4 percent year-on-year. The 16 sub-sectors characterized by new cultural business formats generated 68.253 trillion yuan in revenue, increasing by 14.3 percent.

The expansion of China's cultural industries reflects a broader change taking place in the country's consumer economy. As household spending becomes more varied, consumption is extending beyond material necessities toward products and services associated with experience, quality and personal interest. According to data from the NBS, per capita spending on education, culture, and entertainment reached 3,489 yuan in 2025, up 9.4 percent, accounting for 11.8 percent of per capita consumption expenditure.

In a market of over 1.4 billion consumers, even gradual changes in spending patterns can create considerable commercial momentum. In China, new business formats linked to digital content, leisure services, cultural consumption and experience-oriented retail continue to emerge alongside traditional forms of consumer activity. The result is a domestic market that is becoming broader in composition, with services, culture and lifestyle-related spending occupying a more visible place within the wider consumer economy.

An equally important aspect of this shift is the closer interaction emerging between China's evolving consumer market and international commercial networks. The cultural industries fair offers one indication of how that process is developing. As consumer demand becomes more diversified and experience-oriented, a broader range of overseas businesses is looking to China's domestic market for new opportunities.

At the same time, Chinese cultural products and services are reaching overseas consumers through multiple channels, including cross-border e-commerce and physical distribution networks. What is taking shape is a reciprocal pattern of exchange in which cultural and creative industries are becoming increasingly connected with international markets, creating additional scope for commercial cooperation in areas linked to culture, entertainment and consumer services.

The implications extend beyond culture and entertainment. Across a wider range of industries, a similar pattern can be seen: changes in both industrial development and consumer demand are creating new points of connection with overseas markets. While parts of the debate in the West continue to view China's economic development primarily through the lens of competition, the expansion of China's economy - in both production capacity and consumer demand - has in practice created new commercial possibilities for foreign businesses. As China continues to expand high-level opening-up, those opportunities are likely to continue broadening further over time.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn