China on Friday released a slew of measures to boost consumption in the cultural and tourism sectors, vowing to carry out reforms and use new technologies such as the 5G network to improve services, as the country's economy faces persistent downward pressure.

The measures, released by the State Council, China's cabinet, are aimed at maintaining fast growth of consumption in cultural and tourist services and enhancing the role of consumption as a main driver of economic growth.

China will launch a series of favorable policies, such as lowering prices at State-owned tourist sites and pushing for discounted financial services for tourists. China will also work to improve payment services, including installing mobile payment services in more areas, expanding wireless network coverage and deploying 5G in certain areas.

Specifically, all tourist sites will be able to accept mobile payments and 90 percent will have 4G or 5G networks by 2022, according to the guidelines.

Spending in domestic tourism has seen steady growth in recent years and has been contributing more to consumption - a key area policymakers count on in fueling economic growth. In the first half of the year, revenue from domestic tourism grew 13.5 percent year-on-year to 2.78 trillion yuan ($392.5 billion), according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Revenue from overseas tourists grew 5 percent year-on-year to $6.49 billion, the ministry said. 

In a bid to attract more foreign tourists, China will also improve services, including better access to travel information, language services and other support measures, according to the State Council.

The measures came as the country battles external pressure, marked by a trade war with the US, and internal challenges as the economy undergoes a transformation process.

In the first half of the year, the Chinese economy grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.