China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, expanded 5 percent year on year in the first half of this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.
In the period, the retail sales of consumer goods reached 24.5 trillion yuan (about 3.42 trillion U.S. dollars), increasing 5 percent year on year and 0.4 percentage points faster than the first quarter, NBS data showed.
"In breakdown, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas and rural areas increased by 5 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Grouped by consumption patterns, retail sales of goods and catering revenue increased by 5.1 and 4.3 percent, respectively. Sales of basic living items and some upgraded products have shown a relatively good growth trend. The online retail sales increased by 8.5 percent. In June, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4.8 percent year on year, while decreased by 0.16 percent month on month. In the first half of the year, the retail sales of services increased by 5.3 percent year on year, 0.3 percentage points faster than that in the first quarter," said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the bureau, at a press conference on Tuesday.
