BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's sharing economy will grow about 40 percent this year to 4.5 trillion yuan (about 680 billion U.S. dollars), an official with the national economic planner said Wednesday.

"The sharing economy is expected to maintain annual growth of about 40 percent over the next few years," according to Meng Wei, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

In 2016, the sharing economy had total transactions of 3.45 trillion yuan, more than double the 2015 figure, involving more than 600 million people, Meng told a press conference.

"The NDRC, which takes the lead in promoting the sharing economy, will attach equal importance to development and regulation of this sector," said Meng.

While relaxing market access, the government will strengthen supervision against monopolies, and boost integration with manufacturing and agricultural sectors, according to Meng.

The sharing economy already provides services including bicycle and car hire as well as sports equipment and umbrella rental, by scanning QR codes with smartphones.

The sharing economy will account for more than 10 percent of the country's GDP by 2020, the State Information Center predicted earlier this year. Enditem