Business

China Retail Sales To Hit US$ 7.18 Trillion By 2020

China's retail sales will grow about 10% annually from 2016-2020 to reach 48 trillion yuan (US$ 7.18 trillion) by 2020, China's commerce ministry said. The growth rate would be considerably slower than the 13.9% annual growth rate seen during the five years through 2015. Retail sales rose 10.7% in 2015. China's economy faces downward pressure, with falling corporate profits impacting individuals' income growth, hurting consumption. Inadequate supply of mid- and high-end goods also puts a damper on spending, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement discussing the government's five-year plan for commerce. By 2020, China's service trade volume will exceed US$ 1 trillion, the ministry said.

China will have difficulty maintaining the current levels of foreign investment inflows in 2016-2020, while cumulative outbound investment will reach US$ 720 billion, the ministry also said. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China jumped 9.7% in June from a year earlier, hitting a 10-month high, data from the ministry showed.

In the first half of 2016, FDI rose 5.1% from the same period a year earlier to 441.76 billion yuan, or US$ 69.42 billion, according to the statement.