China should grow its service industry and develop it to expand the economic structure but the growth must not come at the expense of reducing the agricultural sector, economists said at a local forum Sunday.

"For China, a country with 1.37 billion people, faster development of the service industry is the best solution to address China's uneven economic structure," said Wan Guangning, an analyst at the Asian Development Bank.

Wan estimated the service industry will account for 55 percent of China's economy by 2030, from 38 percent in 2009, and the key is to stimulate demand in rural areas.

But he reiterated that services should not grow at the expense of the agricultural sector as it did in the past decade. He noted China's manufacturing sector grew steadily in the past 10 years, the agricultural sector weakened while services increased.

Under China's 12th Five-Year Plan from 2011 to 2015, policy makers have identified boosting domestic demand as a major driver to power the economy and growing services faster is set to play a vital role in achieving the goal.