China's economy likely to grow 6.7 pct in 2016, says top economic planner

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China's economy was estimated to have grown about 6.7 percent in 2016, the country's top economic planner said Tuesday.

The world's second largest economy registered the same growth rate in the first, second and third quarter last year, Xu Shaoshi, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a news briefing.

Xu Shaoshi, director of the National Development and Reform Commission speaks at news briefing. /SCIO Photo

Consumption accounted for 71 percent of growth in 2016, up 13 percentage points, Xu said.

He said the economy would exceed 70 trillion yuan (about 10.1 trillion US dollars), an increase of 5 trillion yuan, and that the growth was remarkable among major economies.

Decoration at a shopping mall in Shanghai, Jan 7, 2017. /CFP Photo

Citing a report by the International Monetary Fund, Hu added that China had contributed 1.2 percentage points, or over 30 percent, of the world's economic growth in 2016, while the United States had accounted for just 0.3 percentage points.

(Story by Xinhua)