China's domestic consumption will continue to expand steadily in 2016, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
Consumption, which contributed 66.4 percent to the country's GDP last year, will remain a stronger force driving economic growth this year as effects of the country's supply-side reform policies start to pay off, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
It expected the supply-side reform to boost China's consumption in sectors such as smart energy solutions, services and environmentally friendly products.
Supply-side reform, a buzzword used by Chinese leaders and economists, focuses on better provision of high-quality goods and services, lower costs for businesses, and stronger consumption.
The reform is considered the key to China's future growth as it strives to stabilize short-term growth while engineering a transition from an export- and investment-powered model to one based on stronger consumer spending, innovation and the services sector.
As old growth drivers slow, dragging China's GDP growth to its slowest pace in a quarter of a century, consumption has risen to take up the slack.
Retail sales of consumer goods, a key indicator of China's consumption, rose 10.7 percent year on year to 30.1 trillion yuan (4.6 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2015.
