China will strive to push retail sales higher in 2010 so that they contribute a bigger proportion to next year's gross domestic product, the Ministry of Commerce said over the weekend.

The government recognized that consumption was the key driver for China's economic recovery in 2009, said Jiang Zengwei, vice minister of commerce, at a forum in Beijing on the development and reform of China's circulation industry.

The country's economy grew 8.9 percent in the third quarter this year, accelerating from 7.9 percent in the second quarter and 6.1 percent in the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The ministry will take measures to boost rural and urban consumption in 2010 to propel economic growth, said Jiang.

He said the ministry will expand the "old-for-new" program in which consumers replace their old cars and home appliances by buying new ones at a discount.

Retail sales in China are predicted to jump 18.2 percent annually in 2010, boosted by domestic consumption and income growth, according to a recent report by Beijing-based Renmin University.