China's retail sales grew at the fastest pace in more than two years as rising incomes boosted spending on food, cars, electronics and clothes.

Sales for January and February combined rose 14.7 percent to 1.45 trillion yuan (US$187 billion) after gaining 14.6 percent in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. The median estimate of 18 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was 14.8 percent.

General Motors Corp's China venture led a 48 percent jump in vehicle sales, while increased purchases of home appliances may benefit Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd., the dominant chain. The government has raised minimum wages and increased welfare spending to boost consumption and reduce the economy's dependence on exports and investment for growth, Bloomberg reported.

"This is a promising trend," Steve Wang, an economist at Bank of America Corp., said in Hong Kong, as sales growth stayed above 14 percent for five straight months. "Consumer spending is the key area policy makers are working on and will become a more important part of economic growth.''

Growth was the strongest since May 2004 after combining January and February figures in past years for comparison.

Shanghai General Motors Co.'s Buick Excelle was the No.2 selling car model in the first two months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. GM is the world's biggest automaker.

Sales of household appliances rose 22 percent and clothing sales increased 28 percent, the statistics bureau said. Meat and egg sales gained 33 percent.

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