The Chinese mainland should build a "direct-purchase type of distribution platform" for foreign brands, so high-grade imported goods can smoothly enter the mainland and to lower their prices, said an official from the Ministry of Commerce. 

"The direct-purchase type of distribution platform" is a way that the producers sell their products directly to consumers, without intermediate suppliers, which can save on costs on high-value products. 

Many overseas brands have monopolistic intermediate suppliers on the mainland, who to a great extent can determine the price of the article. If China introduces more overseas luxury brands to improve competition, intermediate suppliers would have to cut their prices, Wang Shouwen, director of the department of foreign trade at the ministry, told China National Radio. 

Chinese tourists bought nearly 300 billion yuan ($47.4 billion) of goods overseas last year, China National Radio reported on Sunday. 

If overseas luxury brands sell products directly on the mainland, the residents will benefit from the move, domestic consumption will be expanded and employment will be promoted, said Ma Guangyuan, an economy and finance observer. 

Informal statistics show the average prices of luxury goods on the mainland are 70 percent higher than in France, 50 per-cent higher than in the United States and 45 percent higher than in Hong Kong.