China's retail sales to grow 10% in 2018

BEIJING - China is expected to see retail sales of consumer goods expand about 10 percent to exceed 40 trillion yuan ($6.38 trillion) this year, a report showed Tuesday.

The strong consumption growth will be powered by innovative products and services as more affluent Chinese are willing to pay for higher quality and unique experiences, according to a report from the research institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Smart services enabled by the internet will be the most powerful engine for consumption growth this year, said Zhao Ping, a researcher with the institute.

China's retail sales of consumer goods expanded 10.2 percent to exceed 36 trillion yuan in 2017, official data showed.

The report also estimated that consumption will contribute to over 60 percent of total GDP growth while consumption gaps between urban and rural areas as well as among different regions will narrow.

Retail sales in rural areas are likely to grow 12 percent this year, about 1 to 2 percentage points faster than that in urban areas, according to the report.