China posted contrasting figures for consumption during the weeklong National Day holiday from Oct. 1-7 at home and abroad, which are indicative of the country’s efforts to rebalance its economy.

Japan and Taiwan both saw a record number of Chinese visitors during the so-called Golden Week holiday, with Japan becoming the most popular destination receiving 400,000 Chinese tourists.

The shopping by Chinese visitors during the week in Japan is also expected to set a new record, surpassing the 7 billion yuan ($1.10 billion) posted during this year’s cherry blossom season.

Chinese visitors favor Japanese goods for their good quality and items that catch their attention are often later imported by the country’s shopping websites. The close proximity, well-developed tourism services, weaker Japanese yen and Tokyo’s exemption of the consumption tax for foreign visitors also help the country attract tourists from China.

On the other hand, Hong Kong, which has seen growing anti-mainlander sentiment, saw a 20% year-on-year drop of business during the week from a year earlier, as well as a 20%-30% decline in the number of tourists from across the border.

Hong Kong lost sales of consumer goods and foodstuffs to Japan and sales of luxury goods to North America and Europe.

China itself also posted slower growth in retail sales during the weeklong holiday, gaining only 11% from a year earlier.

As the country tries to transform into a consumption-driven economy, a key issue that needs to be addressed is quality, as demonstrated by domestic consumers’ preference for Japanese goods.

Taiwan’s manufacturing sector underwent a similar transformation to improve product quality in the 1980s and may share its experience with its counterparts in China.

Authorities in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan still need to look deeper to tap into the potential buying power of Chinese consumers indicated by the recent statistics.