Increased consumption to fuel China's growth

China is expected to see a robust economic growth at around 8 percent in 2021, and the country must continue to rebalance from investment to consumption to make the recovery more inclusive and sustainable, the head of a major economic organization said on Tuesday.

Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said in a news conference after the Fifth "1+6" Roundtable China is expected to be the only major economy that will achieve positive growth in 2020, while global GDP will decline by over 4 percent this year, the largest annual fall in output since World War II。

He projected after a strong recovery next year, China's recovery growth will ease to about 5 percent as the economy returns to its pre-COVID path.

Gurria highlighted the growing importance of consumption in shoring up China's growth.

"Stronger social protection, a more equitable distribution of high-quality public services, including for migrant workers, would accelerate urbanization. This in turn would accelerate consumption," he said, adding China's consumption could increase by about eight percent on an annual basis in the medium term based on estimates from the organization.

The Fifth "1+6" Roundtable, held via video link, brought together Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the heads of six major economic and financial institutions.