2015: China to be biggest consumer market

Beijing - China is expected to become the world's largest consumer market in 2015, said China's Commerce Minister Deming Chen. 

The volume of consumer retail sales will surpass US$5 trillion in 2015, mainly due to a faster urbanisation rate and an increase in people's incomes, Chen said at the Beijing International Fair for Trade in Service.

The number of outbound tourists is expected to reach 88 million by then, he said.

China currently ranks fourth in the world in terms of service trade volume, with US$419 billion in 2011, compared to the U.S. at $900 billion.

The development of consumer retail and service trade is part of China's strategy of boosting household consumption, according to state media Xinhua.