Chinese consumers lodge 1.67m complaints in 2016

BEIJING - China's market regulators received 1.67 million consumer complaints in 2016, and 1.59 million were processed, data from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce showed.

The complaint resolution rate was 95.2 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from one year earlier, the administration said in a statement on its website.

The complaints involved 4.06 billion yuan (around $592 million) in disputes. Authorities at all levels helped consumers recover 1.82 billion yuan.

The statement said consumer complaints related to online shopping, cultural and recreational appliances and services rose at fast paces last year.

China's online sales boomed in 2016, surging 26.2 percent year on year to reach 5.16 trillion yuan.

Complaints lodged from rural areas also markedly increased last year, showing a strengthened rights protection awareness among rural residents.