Leading economist upholds service industry for growth

BEIJING - Renowned Chinese economist Li Yining on Sunday said China should further promote the service industry, which has started to make bigger contributions to the economy.

"China should make more customized products and offer more humanized services, so as to promote the Made-in-China brand abroad and attract more foreign customers to domestic market," Li said at a forum about China's economic issues in Beijing.

China's economic structure has been improving with the rise of service industry, which is more efficient, energy-saving and can provide more jobs.

In the first three quarters of 2015, the value added of the service sector accounted for 51.4 percent of GDP, up 2.3 percentage points from the same period last year.

The government should ensure stable employment and enhanced social security while advancing steadily on the path of structural reform and promoting an economy led by the service sector, Li said.

Also on Sunday, China's State Council pledged to strengthen support for consumer services to upgrade the consumption structure and bolster economic growth.

Infrastructure for public services will be improved and a better consumption environment for both domestic and international customers will be built.

The upgrading of service industry as a leading sector will inevitably affect the growth speed and cause a slowdown, according to the experience of developed countries, Li said.

The Chinese economy expanded 6.9 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2015, the first time the quarterly growth rate has dropped below 7 percent since the second quarter of 2009.

In 2015, the government rolled out a string of pro-growth measures to tackle economic slowdown, by promoting monetary easing, stepping up infrastructure construction and nurturing new growth points.