Chinese and foreign companies have pledged to spend Rmb14.25bn ($2.24bn) on advertising on China Central Television, a rise of 12.5 per cent from last year as domestic groups seek to firmly establish their brands with Chinese consumers.

The increase was slower than the rates of between 15 and 18 per cent seen over the past five years but still indicates that China will remain the world’s fastest-growing large advertising market, in a reflection of solid confidence in strong consumer demand.

The national broadcaster’s annual auction of advertising slots is seen as a bellwether for the Chinese economy because of its dominant position in the market. CCTV accounted for close to 40 per cent of China’s total advertising spend and more than 50 per cent of the nation’s TV screen time share last year, according to Charm Communications. In past years, Chinese ad spending has been growing at about 150 per cent of the gross domestic product growth rate.