Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng says domestic consumption contributed about two-thirds of China's GDP growth last year, a drastic increase from the year before. Gao says this shows that China's model of economic growth is indeed changing.
"It means that China's economic growth has been successfully transformed from the old model, that is stimulated by investment and foreign trade to a new model, which is stimulated by domestic demand," Gao said.
Minister Gao said China's total retail sales of consumer goods hit 30 trillion yuan in 2015, a year-on-year increase of more than 10 percent.
He said that despite many unexpected factors in the global markets and a double-digit decline in overall global trade, China's foreign trade outperformed most countries last year. Data show China's international trade accounted for over 13 percent of global trade last year. That means one out seven of the world's exports and imports passed through China's customs.
Gao said China will continue to reform and open up its economy.
