China to prioritize domestic consumer demand

BEIJING - China will strive to establish a long-term mechanism to boost domestic consumer demand in the next five years, Zhang Ping, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Sunday.

Measures to spur domestic consumer demand include boosting employment, promoting the urbanization process, readjusting income distribution system, improving social security network and optimizing the consumption environment, Zhang said.

He said that boosting consumer demand would be China's priority in implementing its strategy to spur domestic demand during its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

China will fully develop and unleash the potential of domestic demand, as "the country's final consumption is less than 50 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), much lower than the world's average of around 70 percent," Zhang said at the China Development Forum 2011.