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As external uncertainties continue to escalate, consumption, particularly in the services sector, is poised to assume an increasingly important role in underpinning the Chinese economy this year, analysts said.

分析人士指出，随着外部不确定性持续加剧，消费特别是服务消费将在今年中国经济中扮演愈发重要的支柱角色。

A high-level meeting convened by China's top leadership in late April placed high premiums on efforts to boost services consumption and strengthen the role of consumption in driving economic growth.

今年4月下旬召开的中央高层会议明确提出，要着力扩大服务消费，进一步增强消费对经济增长的拉动作用。

The meeting held by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee also called for a swift removal of restrictive measures in the consumption sector.

中共中央政治局会议还要求，抓紧破除消费领域存在的限制性措施。

Before the tone-setting meeting, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in mid-April that "expanding services consumption will be instrumental in further tapping into untapped consumption potential and in creating a crucial engine to drive consumption growth, both in the near term and the longer run."

在此次定调会议之前，商务部部长王文涛（Wang Wentao）4月中旬曾表示，“扩大服务消费，扩大服务消费将有助于进一步挖掘未开发的消费潜力，推动形成消费新引擎，拉动短期和长期的消费增长。”

International evidence suggests that when a country's per capita GDP reaches around $15,000, its consumption structure transitions from being goods-dominant to being services-driven. Given that China's per capita GDP has already surpassed $13,000, the country's services consumption is now in a rapid growth stage, Wang said in a published article in Qiushi Journal, the flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee.

王文涛在中共中央机关刊《求是》杂志撰文指出，国际经验表明，当一国人均GDP达到1.5万美元左右时，消费结构会从以物质消费为主转向以服务型消费为主。中国人均GDP已超过1.3万美元，服务消费正处在快速发展阶段。

In the first quarter of this year, retail sales of services grew by 5 percent year-on-year, outpacing the growth rate of goods retail by 0.4 percentage point, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

国家统计局数据显示，今年一季度，服务零售额同比增长5%，增速较商品零售快0.4个百分点。

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