The service sector accounted for 52.2 percent ofChina’s total GDP in 2018, which suggests thatChinahas entered an era of service economy, according to a research group with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Xia Jiechang, head of the research team, made the remarks at a recent seminar on the development and opening-up of the country’s service industry in the new era.
The service sector has become a pillar ofChina’s economy, Xia added, noting that the tertiary industry attracted 46.3 percent of the country’s workforce and 56 percent of fixed-asset investment.
This was attributed to the high priorityChinaplaces on developing its service industry as it has issued several documents in this regard, including a paper on promoting quality and expansion of capacity in the housekeeping service sector published by the State Council this June.
The country’s service industry still has its shortcomings, such as shortage of private services in education, healthcare and elderly care, structural imbalance between supply and demand, and backward management system.