China urges expansion of competitive retailers

China's Ministry of Commerce says it will support the expansion of competitive retailers that can contribute to increased domestic consumption. As Chen Lijun tells us, the ministry will create jobs by setting up more stores in rural areas.

Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei said most domestic retailers were small and inefficient. The largest one is GOME, an electronic chain store, with a revenue of 100 billion yuan in 2008. But it is only four percent the size of US retailer giant Wal-Mart. Jiang said China must promote the development of Chinese retail giants.

Jiang Zengwei, Vice Commerce Minister, says, it can be achieved through market competition. The government should issue supportive policies to tackle difficulties such as cross-area hindering, or promote mergers and reshuffles of retailers, and create sound competitive environment for fair play.

In addition, China plans to add large amounts of jobs to migrant workers by setting up 150 thousand more stores in rural areas. This will be in addition to the current 260 thousand stores. By the end of 2010, the rural stores will provide 775 thousand jobs.

Click for more news in Biz China>>