China's booming beauty industry could hatch a considerable number of jobs if being developed properly, constituting a potential solution to the country's unemployment problem, said a member of China's national advisory body in Beijing on Thursday.
   
Zhang Xiaomei, a member of the Tenth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of China Beauty and Fashion Daily, estimated that the industry may create some 1 million new jobs annually.
   
Presently, China has nearly 1.6 million beauty parlors, employing 9.4 million people and reporting business incomes of 176.2 billion yuan (US$21.5 billion). The industry has seen an annual growth rate of 15 percent, said Zhang, who had proposed to further upgrade China's beauty business at two previous CPPCC sessions.
   
She also suggested relevant government departments make it easier for people to start their beauty businesses and provide better professional training in the regard.

It is also important to eliminate the prejudice against the beauty services, which is viewed as a sideline of erotic activities in some Chinese localities, said Zhang, a firm advocate of the industry.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2005)