China’s Consumption Market Sees Stable Growth

China’s consumption market is maintaining stable growth. In November， the retail sails climbed to RMB 1.6 trillion， up 17.3 percent year on year. After deducting inflation， the actual growth rate was 12.8%， according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

During the first 11 months of the year， China’s retail sales rose 17 percent year-on-year to hit RMB 16.35 trillion. After adjusting for inflation， the actual growth rate was 11.4%. Compared with October， the retail sails increased 1.27 percent in November.

In terms of location， the urban retail sales grew 17.3 percent to RMB 1.4 trillion， while the rural retail sails climbed 17.2 percent to RMB 216 billion. In terms of consumption patterns， the catering sector generated a profit of RMB 186.5 billion， up 17.7 percent year on year. The commodity retail sales increased 17.2 percent to RMB 1.42 trillion.

Propelled by the strategy of boosting domestic demand， China will continuously upgrade its consumption structure within the following 5 years. With government support， the potential of consumer spending is to be further unleashed， said Zhang Zhigang， at the 10th anniversary of the entry of China to the WTO. It is estimated that the retail sails will increase to RMB 32 trillion by 2015， with an annual rate of over 15 percent， and the scale of the domestic market will be the largest in the world， Zhang added.

Two of the three engines to power the economy， namely， investment and export always remained dominant， while the other one—domestic consumption had been declining in the past days. However， this situation is changing. With a series of policies， China has moved to boost domestic consumption. The power of domestic consumption is increasingly stimulating economic and social development， said Li Peilin， director of the Sociology Research Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences， when releasing the blue book named Analysis and Outlook of Chinese Society in 2012.

The growth rate of retail sales in November was higher than that of GDP and actual growth of people’s income. Besides， in terms of consumption structure， the Engel’s coefficient is dropping continuously， with the non-food consumption goods increasing at a rapid rate. The consumption of automobiles is especially growing at 16 percent， as is furniture by 31.4 percent， home appliances and audio equipment are up 20 percent， gold and jewelry nearly 50 percent. In a word， the consumption structure is undergoing great changes.

Consumption is shifting from basic living expenses like clothes， food， homes and transportation to leisure， enjoyment and pursuit of middle class status， added Li.

Moreover， China’s accession to the WTO is a new start for opening up to the outside world and has brought great changes to the domestic consumption market. Chinese people are benefiting much from the accession.

In the future， China will further expand the consumption market and the service sectors like finance， logistics and medical treatment. This will coincide along with pushing for opening up of the coastal areas， the borders and the mainland， said Yu Jianhua， Assistant Minister of Commerce， at a briefing to mark the 10th anniversary of China’s entry into the WTO.

In the 5 years to come， China’s imports are expected to be worth over US$8 trillion， which will bring great business opportunities to the world and promote economic prosperity.