Services set to power consumption

Services will power China's consumption which has a huge potential to expand due to new growth sectors, Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said yesterday.

"Consumption in household services, leisure, tourism, cultural activities is likely to expand further in the following years, while e-commerce is experiencing an explosive growth right now and this trend may continue," Gao said in remarks published on the ministry's website yesterday.

"Services will become a driving force for consumption, and there are a lot of opportunities like providing services for seniors," Gao said.

Industrialization, urbanization and modernizing agriculture will create new growth opportunities, Gao said.

He added that sales of products like energy-saving appliances, smartphones and tablet computers will grow quickly as a better logistic and distribution network is established.

China's retail sales may grow 13 percent this year, easing from the average 15.7 percent rise in the previous two years. But the country is still on track to achieve its target of growing retail sales by an annual average 14 percent between 2011 and 2015 under the 12th Five-Year Plan, Gao said.

By 2020, China's retail sales may top 50 billion yuan (US$8.13 billion), accounting for 55 percent of its gross domestic product.