Boosting domestic consumption will be a gradual process for China, and investment will remain a key driver of economic growth, said a Beijing-based economist on Thursday, following the conclusion of a major policy meeting.

The annual Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday as Chinese leaders decided priorities for the economic work in 2026.

The conference stressed that special initiatives should be advanced to boost consumption, and the supply of high-quality consumer goods and services should be expanded. Unreasonable restrictions in the consumption sector should be removed, and the potential of service consumption should be unlocked.

Shi Yinghua, director of the Macroeconomic Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences, believes that efforts to promote consumption will take time.

"China is such a large economy and investment still plays a crucial role. But consumption remains a slow-moving variable: you can lift it a bit in the short term, but the effect is limited. So, I think the shift in consumption takes time. China is gradually raising its household consumption rate and progressively optimizing the structure of national income distribution," she said.