(File photo)

1. Consumption has become the primary driver of economic growth.

The Central Economic Working Conference was held from Dec.9 to 11, 2014 in Beijing. The 'new normal' was illustrated through nine aspects, including consumption demand, investment demand, and exports.

Statistics shows that gross retail sales reached 23.7 trillion yuan in the first 11 months of 2014, a year on year increase of 12 per cent. In the first three quarters of 2014, the contribution of consumption to the growth of GDP reached 48.5 per cent, 7 percentage points higher than investment. This is the first time that consumption has surpassed investment to become the primary driving factor of economic growth.