China eyes stronger consumer services to promote consumption

China will strengthen support for key consumer services in order to upgrade the consumption structure, an official said on Friday.

Several key sectors, including health care, senior citizen care, tourism, sports, hotels and catering, as well as education and training services will be prioritized, said Lin Nianxiu, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a press conference in Beijing.

Stronger consumer services can boost consumption, which in turn will drive economic development and improve people's livelihoods, Lin said, citing the guideline on promoting consumer services released earlier on Wednesday by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The guideline was China's first such policy document to specifically target expanding consumer services, improving infrastructure for public services and building a better consumption environment for both domestic and international customers, Lin said.

In order to help consumption growth, the government pledged to accelerate reform and innovation, help businesses adopt new technology to improve the quality of their products, encourage imports of consumer goods, open more duty-free shops, and improve tax refund policies for foreign tourists, according to the guideline.

Given the continued slowdown, China is counting on domestic consumption to replace old economic engines and prop up growth. The economy expanded 6.9 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2015, the lowest reading since the second quarter of 2009. Endi