China to bolster service consumption

BEIJING - The government Monday issued guidelines to boost consumption of services as part of efforts to build the tertiary sector to a new growth driver.

"We will manage to unleash potential consumption by improving service quality and increasing service supply," said the State Council document.

Tourism, elderly care, and cultural, sports and health industries were highlighted, as well as education and training.

The government believes more consumption in these areas will help improve people's livelihoods, as well as contribute to economic restructuring and new growth.

Specific measures include expanding visa-free policies for inbound cruises, pre-tax reductions on health insurance, less administration for nursing homes and Chinese-foreign cooperation in schools.

Confronted with a prolonged slowdown, China has channeled energy into the services sector to offset flagging manufacturing and lackluster exports. In the first three quarters, services made up 58.5 percent of GDP growth, up 3.4 percentage points from a year ago.

The government will also impose higher standards on domestic products in hopes of attracting consumers that usually spend big on foreign products.