12th Five-Year Plan May Include Consumption Rate

China may set a 2- to 3-percent growth target in consumption rates in the next Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). The move would be seen as a bid to enhance the effect of spending to boost the country's economic growth, Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday.

Consumption rate is the ratio of a country's spending during a given time to its gross domestic product. The country's spending is comprised of consumer spending and government spending. According to data from the World Bank, Chinese residents consumed at a rate of 37 percent in 2008, while the world's average rate was 61 percent.

The global economic recession makes transforming the structure of China's economy more urgent, since demands for exports will require much more time to recover to pre-crisis levels. Plus, China's economic growth needs new momentum, one source told the newspaper.

The newspaper said the 12th Five-Year Plan draft might address employment, income distribution and social security for strengthening domestic household buying power. Efforts will also be made to establish a long-term mechanism to stimulate consumer spending and expand domestic markets, the report said.