TIANJIN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Walmart has launched construction of its largest Sam's Club by operational area in northern China, with Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony in the Tianjin Municipality marking the U.S. retail giant's latest bet on the country's vast consumer market.

Scheduled to open in 2026, the 25,000-square-meter facility will adopt an omnichannel model integrating one physical store with 20 digital fulfillment centers to serve premium and diversified consumption needs across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. This third Sam's Club location in the northern metropolis positions Tianjin as a strategic anchor for Walmart's regional expansion.

Since opening its first Chinese store in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province in 1996, the Walmart-owned warehouse membership chain has grown to 55 operational outlets nationwide. Sam's Club achieved a milestone in 2024 with its annual China revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan (about 13.9 billion U.S. dollars), while Walmart China reported 6.7 billion U.S. dollars in net sales in the first quarter of 2025, a 22.5-percent year-on-year surge.

"We take immense pride in Sam's growth in China," said Christina Zhu, president and CEO of Walmart China at last month's Walmart Investment Community Meeting. She revealed that eight Sam's Clubs in China are projected to surpass 500 million U.S. dollars in annual sales this year.

The retailer has accelerated its China investments since announcing plans in December 2023 to open six to seven new Sam's Clubs annually. Over a dozen projects are currently underway across Beijing, Guangdong, east China's Zhejiang and other regions.

Sam's success aligns with China's expanding import sector, which hit a record over 18 trillion yuan in 2024. The nation has maintained its position as the world's second-largest consumer market and top online retail market, with total retail sales of consumer goods growing 4.6 percent year-on-year to 12.47 trillion yuan in the January-March period of 2025.

China's mega-market advantage lies in its economic scale, market capacity, industrial system and human capital -- a multidimensional strength enhancing economic resilience, according to Yu Yongding, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Despite global protectionist headwinds, China attracted 12,603 new foreign-invested enterprises during the first quarter of this year, with actualized foreign direct investment up 13.2 percent year on year in March.

"Multinationals like Walmart are voting with their capital, showcasing confidence in China's economic vitality and market appeal," Yu noted.■