Beijing, Feb 9 - The global financial meltdown is having an increasing impact on the Chinese economy, hurting consumption, but recent stimulus measures will pave the way for a recovery in spending, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday.
In a statement released ahead of a news conference by Vice-Minister Jiang Zengwei, the ministry said the international crisis was still getting worse.
"A slowing economy has dented residential income growth as well as consumer expectations. Some consumption hot spots are starting to cool off," the ministry said.
China launched a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus plan in November to boost domestic demand and has since rolled out measures to expand medical insurance with the aim of reducing precautionary saving and spurring consumption.
The ministry pledged to continue to expand rural consumption and to facilitate consolidation of big retail chains.
Retail sales rose 13.8 percent, stronger than expected, during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday from a year earlier to reach 290 billion yuan, Jiang said.
He told reporters that China aims to create about 450,000 jobs this year and a further 325,000 in 2010 by encouraging the establishment of retail stores in the countryside.
The purpose was to help migrant workers who have returned home after having lost their factory jobs in eastern China due to a slump in export demand.
About 20 million migrant workers have already lost their jobs, the government said last week, and one in five firms in China's ailing export hub of Guangdong may soon lay off workers, according to an official labour survey.