Retail sales to surpass 20t yuan in 2012

China's retail sales are expected to surpass 20 trillion yuan ($3.21 trillion) in 2012, and will exceed 30 trillion yuan in 2015 given an annual growth rate of 15 percent, said Zhang Zhigang, head of the China General Chamber of Commerce.

The first 11 months of the year saw China's retail sales up 14.2 percent from a year earlier to 18.68 trillion yuan, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.

Fang Aiqing, assistant minister of commerce, said that China's urbanization rate will increase at least 0.8 percent annually during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), meaning that more than 10 million people in rural areas will become urban residents each year. Their consumption is expected to increase three times from current figures, thus creating more opportunities for domestic trade.

lijiabao@chinadaily.com.cn