China's retail sales growth 13%

China's retail sales of consumer goods will grow by more than 13% year on year for 2013, the Chinese of Commerce said on Wednesday. Improving economic growth and the country's determination to shift to a domestic demand-driven expansion model has boosted consumers' confidence. Sales growth is likely to increase for the remainder of the year, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said at a press conference. Online shopping and strong sales of telecommunication equipment also boosted retail sales, Shen said. Shen expected the strong momentum of consumption growth to maintain in the first quarter next year, according to China's (Xinhua) News Agency. In the first 11 months of 2013, retail sales grew 13%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Retail sales in November alone was up 13.7% year on year, the highest rate of increase this year.