In China, eating out is now definitely in

Dine out today?

Great food is like great sex: The more you have, the more you want.

It's a saying that certainly applies to the Chinese, at least in the culinary sense, as recent figures show that people are spending more money on dining out.

A report released yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce shows that retail sales in the catering sector last year hit 1.03 trillion yuan, up 16.4 percent on 2005.

The figure accounts for 13.5 percent of the country's total retail sales of consumer goods. It has helped create about 20 million jobs, the report says.

Meanwhile, ministry figures show that in the first two months of this year, retail sales in the sector reached 205.91 billion yuan, up 17 percent on the same period in 2006.

"It's expected the growth will continue for the rest of the year, to estimated annual sales of 1.21 trillion yuan ($156 billion)," the report says.

The figures equate to every Chinese spending 915 yuan on dining out this year, compared with 790 yuan last year.

In the United States and France, the equivalent figures are $1,600 and $1,050, respectively.

"So there is still plenty of room for growth, especially in the country's vast rural areas," the report says.

Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou topped last year's chart for retail sales in the catering sector, with Shanghai, Jinan and Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province recording the highest growth rates.

好吃的美食就像美妙的性一样。越吃越想吃。

这句话当然是针对热爱美食的中国人来说的，最近有调查数据显示，中国人在餐饮方面的开销正在不断增加。

商务部昨天公布的一份统计报告显示，餐饮业去年的营业额达到10300亿元，比2005年增加了16.4%。

这一数字占去年全国消费品总零售额的13.5%。此外，据统计报告显示，餐饮业为全国创造了约2000万个就业机会。

据统计，今年前两个月，餐饮业的营业额达205.1亿元，比去年同期上涨17%。

统计报告称，“这一增长还将继续，餐饮业今年的年营业额预计将达到12100亿元。”

也就是说，今年每个中国人在餐饮方面的平均消费预计为915元，高于去年的790元。

这一数字在美国和法国分别为1600美元和1050美元。

统计报告中说，“所以，餐饮业增长的空间还很大，尤其是在广大的农村地区。”

上海、北京、广州去年的餐饮业营业额位居全国前三位，上海以及山东省的济南和青岛的增长率最高。