China's retail sales growth estimated at 10.7% in 2015

BEIJING - China's retail sales of consumer goods will see annual growth of 10.7 percent this year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) forecast Thursday.

The domestic consumer market was stable this year and it gained momentum in recent months, said MOC spokesperson Shen Danyang during a press conference.

Retail sales of consumer goods rose 11.2 percent year on year in November, the highest monthly growth rate so far this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed last Saturday.

With November featuring the online-shopping frenzy Singles' Day, total retail sales of consumer goods stood at 2.79 trillion yuan ($434 billion) last month, according to the NBS.

In the 11 months ending November, total sales rose 10.6 percent from a year earlier to 27.23 trillion yuan, unchanged from the growth for the first 10 months.

Strong retail sales indicate that pro-consumption policies are taking effect. It also offers relief for policymakers as they try to restructure the economy to a more consumption- and service-driven model to sustain growth, albeit at a slower rate.