Sales for consumer goods and production means will reach 15 trillion RMB yuan (1811.6 billion US dollars) in China market in 2004, Bo Xilai, China's Minister of Commerce, said Sunday in Beijing.

He made the remarks at the WICO (WORLD Industrial and Commercial Organizations) -Summit that opened Sunday, which focuses on promoting cooperation among international industrial and commercial centers.

In 2003, the market for consumer goods and production means was13.3 trillion RMB yuan. Retail sales in China reached 4,600 billion RMB, an increase of 9.1 percent over the previous year. Inthe first half of 2004, retail sales of consumer goods are 2,500 billion RMB, with a 12.8 percent increase, a record since 1998.

Bo said the household consuming power has increased significantly. Urban households have began to consume goods at a price ranging from 10,000 yuan RMB to 100,000 yuan RMB, while rural households have stepped to consume goods at a price ranging from 1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan RMB.

"Housing, automobile, electric telecommunications, tourism, andeducation have become new consuming trends in urban and rural families," he said.

"The market scale of China still has great potential of development in the future," he said.

By 2010, there will be 100 million middle class families in China, and the assets of per household will be more than 70,000 US dollars. By 2020, the Chinese market will be second next to the United States, Bo said.

Bo said China will insist on promoting consumption to expand domestic demand, perfecting consuming policies, improving consuming environment and further expanding the scale of home market.

"We will focus on fostering new consuming growth areas such as housing, automobiles, tourism, information, and education, continue the drive of opening the market both domestically and internationally, rectify and standardize the market order, and strength the legal framework of market, in order to create an environment of fair competition for both domestic and foreign enterprises," he said.

More than 300 officials from 70-plus ICOs attended the two-day summit.

Source: Xinhua