Service sector key to economic transformation

With the introduction of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), China began a new stage of consumption, undergoing the transformation from a society dominated by the consumption of daily necessities to one characterized by the consumption of services.

The added-value of the tertiary industry accounted for 49.5 percent of the GDP in the first half of 2015, and it is expected to surpass 50 percent by the end of the year. This will be 3 percentage points higher than the goal set during the 12th Five-Year Plan.

That means two significant changes have happened. The first is that the tertiary industry accounts now for a bigger share of GDP than the second industry, and domestic consumption is contributing to the country's economic growth.