Consumption boom needed

Stronger retail sales growth in October not only highlights the ongoing acceleration of China's economic recovery into the fourth quarter of this year, but also points to the increasing power of domestic consumption as the new growth engine in the coming years.

Policymakers should build on the momentum to further boost domestic consumption to usher in a period of fast, consumption-powered growth.

Latest statistics show that retail sales gained 16.2 percent in October from a year earlier, accelerating from a 15.5 percent increase the month before, while fixed asset investment increased 33.1 percent year-on-year, 0.2 percentage points lower than that in the first nine months.