More Employment to Boost Service Sector: Vice-Premier Wen

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 24, 2002

More Employment to Boost Service Sector: Vice-Premier Wen

Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday called on the country's service sector to speed up growth by creating more employment opportunities.

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Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday called on the country's service sector to speed up growth by creating more employment opportunities.

Expansion of China's service industry over the past two decades had played an important role in increasing employment, improving industrial structure, upgrading the people's quality of living, boosting economic growth and maintaining social stability, Wen told a nationwide teleconference on the service sector.

The service sector contributed 33.2 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000, up from 21.4 percent in 1979. It is expected to grow faster than the national economy, and to contribute 36 percent to the GDP by 2005, according to China's tenth Five Year Plan (2001-2005).

The service sector was playing an increasingly important role in stimulating domestic demand and speeding up national economic growth, Wen said.

"Faster growth in the service sector will bring about a more balanced development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries and ensure a sound and fast growth of the national economy," he said.

The vice-premier called on the labor-intensive service sector to create more employment opportunities, as the rapid growth in industrial and information sectors had freed abundant manpower from agricultural and industrial production.

By 2005, 33 percent of China's labor force will be working in the service sector, which is expected to recruit another 45 million new employees in the coming three years.

Wen said China's booming community services, food and beverage industries as well as commercial, trading and tourism industries were expected to accommodate more laid-off workers from state firms.

Service industries in small towns should be an important resort for redundant rural laborers, where public services, transportation, warehousing and trading of agricultural products and information and technical services enjoyed great potential, he said.

On the other hand, China would encourage the private sector to engage in the service industries and gradually open its service market to foreign investors, said Wen.

Central and local treasuries would increase input to back the service sector, and banks and other financial institutions would extend more loans to boost eligible service enterprises.

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