China to speed up service sector development

BEIJING -- The State Council, China's Cabinet, on Wednesday announced multiple tasks for accelerating the development of the country's service sector in the 2011-2015 period.

Developing the service sector is a strategic priority in the country's optimization and upgrading of its industrial structure, said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The country will make more efforts to raise the sector's value in the economy, lift the sector's development level, improve the quality and efficiency of public services and strengthen the sector's role in generating more jobs, the statement said.

Officials attending the meeting agreed on speeding up development in more specific sectors oriented toward boosting the industrial upgrade and agricultural modernization. These sectors include finance, transport, telecommunications, technological support, project consultation, human resources and environmental protection, according to the statement.

Sectors catering to the multi-level and varied needs of the public should be greatly promoted. They include goods trade, family services, legal consultations, sports and real estate services, the statement said.

The country will also push for further opening-up in the service sector by promoting service exports and attracting more overseas investment. Meanwhile, the country will expand international exchanges and cooperation in the sector, and further cooperation with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the statement said.

It said the government will relax controls on market access to the service sector and encourage the investment of various kinds of capital.

Furthermore, the State Council has underscored sectors as key areas in which the nation will make great efforts to promote, including modern logistics, high-tech services, culture, e-commerce, tourism, design consultation, health issues and elderly care, services targeted at the countryside and oceanic services, the statement said.

The statement said the service sector provided 34.6 percent of jobs in China in 2010. From 2005 to 2010, the sector created 5.79 million new jobs on average annually.

The State Council has outlined the major tasks over the next few years because the development of the nation's service sector remains low and is not as competitive as the sector's international peers, according to the statement.

Government data shows that China's tertiary industry accounted for 43.1 percent of the country's GDP in 2011, up from 40 percent in 2005.