BEIJING, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Growth in China's services industry picked up in January, an official survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting the key sector is continuing to expand robustly at the start of 2018.
The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 55.3 from 55 in December.
China's leaders are counting on growth in services and consumption to rebalance their economic growth model from its heavy reliance on investment and exports.
The services sector accounts for over half of China's economy, with rising wages giving Chinese consumers more spending power.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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