Domestic consumption in China is gaining momentum as exports are reigned in due to the global economic downturn - that's according to fresh figures released by China's Ministry of Commerce.MOFCOM says China’s retail sales volumes in 2011 hit 18.1 trillion yuan, or 2.9 trillion US dollars. That’s an increase of more than 17 percent year-on-year.However, sales in domestic property and the auto sector slowed last year, as inflation curbing measures took effect.China’s foreign trade surplus continued to narrow, 14.5 percent to 155.1 billion US dollars for 2011. However, total trade volume last year kept up, at 3.6 trillion US dollars, an increase of 22.5 percent compared with 2010.Meanwhile, foreign direct investment in China rose 9.7 percent in 2011 to record 116 billion US dollars, despite December’s in flows being down 12.7 percent year-on-year, at 12.2 billion US dollars.