BEIJING — China's retail sales are expected to reach 50 trillion yuan ($7.72 trillion) by 2025, an expected average annual growth of 5 percent for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the Ministry of Commerce said on July 9.

China has vowed to build a strong domestic market with new steps to promote a higher level of opening-up during the 2021-2025 period, according to a business development plan issued by the ministry.

Online retail sales will grow by an average of 7.6 percent per year to reach 17 trillion yuan, with the trade of goods likely to total $5.1 trillion by 2025, according to the plan.

China will work to play a better role in global economic governance and enhance its capacity to prevent and defuse risks, according to the plan.

The plan also listed measures to further promote pilot free trade zones and free trade ports as major hubs to better serve the country's new development paradigm of "dual circulation."

"Dual circulation" allows domestic and overseas markets to reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

In addition to 2021-2025 development targets, the plan also provided an outlook for higher quality commerce growth in 2035.