China’s Rural Incomes Surge in Boost for Consumption

China’s 10.3 percent economic growth last year drove the biggest increase in the nation’s rural incomes in a quarter century, bolstering efforts to spur consumption in the world’s most populous nation.

In the countryside, per capita net income rose 10.9 percent to 5,919 yuan ($898), a statistics bureau report showed yesterday. The gain was faster than for urban incomes for the first time since 1997. The report also showed an acceleration in retail sales and industrial production at the end of last year.