(Yicai) March 5 -- China will uphold its focus on expanding domestic demand this year, vigorously stimulating consumption and advancing the building of a robust domestic market, according to a spokesperson for the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.

China will expand the supply of high-quality consumer goods and services, Lou Qinjian said at the first press conference of the NPC during the country's parliament annual meeting, which kicked off today and is one of two key annual policy meetings. Measures will be taken to enhance service consumption and benefit the public, accelerating the cultivation of new growth points for service consumption, he added.

The trade-in program will be optimized to promote the expansion and upgrading of product consumption, Lou pointed out. In addition, an internationalized consumption environment will be created to enrich consumption scenarios, he said.

China will also closely adhere to integrating improving people's livelihoods with boosting consumption, he stressed. Efforts will be made to promote high-quality employment and formulate and implement plans to increase residents' incomes and enhance their consumption capacity, he added.

Steady progress will be made in equalizing basic public services, improving systems for education, childcare, elderly care, and healthcare, and easing residents' concerns about consumption, according to Lou.

"The NPC Standing Committee will conduct supervision on aspects such as building a unified domestic market and promoting comprehensive rural revitalization this year," Lou said. "It will also formulate laws on social assistance, medical insurance, and childcare services, aiming to allocate more resources into people's livelihoods to ensure the public can, will, and is willing to consume."

The proportion of per capita service consumption expenditure to per capita consumption expenditure among Chinese residents is 46 percent, having a significant room for growth compared to developed countries, noted Xu Mingjin, president of the Fujian Chamber of Commerce in Guangdong province and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Relevant departments should increase research and financial support for service consumption, he said, suggesting that they formulate comprehensive financial support policies, fiscal interest subsidy plans, and industrial development plans to stimulate the endogenous growth potential of service consumption and cultivate new growth points.

During China's 15th Five-Year Plan, which runs through 2030, the country will continue to steadily expand institutional opening-up, uphold the multilateral trading system, expand the space for bilateral investment cooperation, and promote high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, Lou said.

China will work with other nations to create a larger "cake" of development, share opportunities, and create a better future together, he added, noting that the country has been, is, and will continue to be an ideal, safe, and promising destination for foreign investors.

The NPC Standing Committee will further improve an open and transparent legal system concerning foreign affairs, promote the creation of a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized, and continuously strengthen the legal foundation for high-level opening up, Lou stressed.

Editor: Martin Kadiev