Premier Li Keqiang attaches great importance to the service industry, as seen in a statement released after a State Council executive meeting on Feb 22.

According to the meeting, the State Council vowed to further ease access restrictions on private investment, encouraging their participation in sectors such as medical service, elderly care, education, culture and sports facilities.

There will also be investment in telecommunications infrastructure, with a goal of lower internet fees and faster connection.

The meeting also passed a revision to China’s Standardization Law, which will be submitted to the legislature for review. The statement said the country seeks to promote industrial restructuring and economic structure adjustment through improvements in industrial standards.

Accounting for 50.5 percent of China’s GDP in 2015, and 51.6 percent in 2016, the service industry has been occupying “half of the country’s economy”, and is seen as a “leader of the Chinese economy” by insiders.

Despite rapid development, there are still many problems in the sector. At the executive meeting, Premier Li pointed out that much work has not yet kept up. One is the barriers to private investment, the other is lack of regulatory systems in the service market.

Throughout the world, the proportion of services in developed countries is more than 70 percent, and China’s industrial restructuring and economic upgrading, to a large extent, lies in this. That is a reason that Premier Li attaches so much importance to the service industry.