China will boost domestic demand in the second half of the year, as consumption plays a fundamental role in economic growth, an official with the country's economic planner said on Wednesday.

  The country will boost consumption in the intelligent retail, online education and home appliance sectors, as well as relax restrictions on new energy vehicle purchases and offer appropriate subsidies for them, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission said in an interview with CCTV.

  China has successively introduced a package of economic policies to hedge against the downward pressure resulted from the COVID-19 epidemic. Its economy grew by 3.2 percent in the second quarter, beats expectations.

  The economic recovery has foundations and is sustainable, Ning commented.

  "China's economy is stable and improving, and the fundamentals of long-term improvement have not changed," he added.

  Ning said that, in the second half of the year, the focus is to continue to implement these policies, promote high-quality economic development, and strive to accomplish annual economic and social development goals.

  In terms of investment, China will focus on promoting the construction of major projects such as new infrastructure, urbanization, and transportation.

  Ning emphasized that local special bonds and special treasury bonds on epidemic control must be used for investment in projects, or direct to enterprises and projects.

  Private investment accounts for nearly 60 percent of all investment. Ning said that in the second half of the year, China will further increase policy support for private investment, including guiding banks in introducing credit products that cater to the needs of private enterprises, and increase the scale of credit loans and medium- to long-term loans.

  Source: CGTN