#China's service sector weighs more in economy

Thanks to its fast growth, the service sector's contribution to China's GDP last year was 51.6 % and maintained an upward trend, but it is still lower than that of most developed countries which stands at above 70%, writes Yang Xun.

In 2016, the added value of the service sector was 38.4 trillion yuan ($5.6 trillion), up 7.8% from the previous year, the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) said in a report released, adding that the sector contributed 58.2% to the national economic growth.

The increased weight of service sector can be attributed to supportive policies, the development of overall economy as well as the popularity of the internet. China's agricultural and industrial structures, driven by technological upgrade, have been optimized as well.

At a State Council executive meeting late last month, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang required relevant departments to widen market access to medical care, education, care for the elderly, culture, sports and other social undertakings with new policies.

The Premier called for an array of new policies to ramp up internet speeds and cut charges for subscribers, to improve the Internet service quality and revise service standards. He also urged more efforts in encouraging companies to lift industrial standards in an innovative manner, pushing forward industry transformation as well as economic structural optimization.

When the manufacturing industry is headache with overcapacity, the service industry is in a supply deficit, indicating a broader prospect for the latter’s future development, experts said.

They pointed out that China needs to work out the industrial standards for the service sector, as most of the current standards are related to manufacturing and agricultural industries, while the service sector only accounts for about 15%.

Experts believe that China should push ahead with the supply-side structural reform, open up the service sector at home and abroad and increase effective supply so as to release reform dividends.

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