BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The development of the service sector is not only a trend-driven choice but also what aligns with industry demands and public aspirations, a Chinese official said.

Li Chunfang, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, made the remarks during the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

In the first quarter of this year, the value-added output of China's service industry accounted for 61.7 percent of GDP and contributed 63.2 percent to the country's economic growth, cementing its status as the largest pillar of the national economy, official data showed.

In April, a national conference on the service sector was held in Beijing, and the State Council issued guidelines aimed at expanding capacity and upgrading quality of the service sector.

Li cited a "cake" metaphor to illustrate these objectives -- "expanding the cake" focuses on increasing volume and scaling up the sector's carrying capacity, while "refining the cake" focuses on optimizing structure and raising development level, making the sector better in substance and higher in tier.

In terms of strengthening producer services, Li identified six key areas: technology services, modern logistics, software and information services, supply chain finance, energy-saving and environmental protection services, and business services.

On consumer services, Liu Tao, deputy director of the institute of market economy of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said efforts should focus on promoting high-quality, diversified and convenient development. Key areas include increasing the supply of quality household and retail services, building a well-structured and efficient community service system, improving the accessibility of elderly and child care services, enhancing the professional capacity of health services as well as upgrading cultural, tourism and sports service models toward higher quality, experience-driven and smart development.

"The continuous deepening of opening up in the service sector helps us learn advanced international concepts and management expertise, raise the professional and international standards of the industry, and rapidly build influential 'China Service' brands," said Zhang Chengcheng, chairman of Roffar Elderly Service Co., Ltd.